


Bed Time Stories

by genericfanatic



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: ADD Lance, Ableism, Alternate Universe - College/University, Anxiety, Arguments, Army, Babies, Biting, Blood, Breakfast in Bed, Child Neglect, Daggers, Depression, Dubious Consent Kiss, Dyscalcula Lance, Extreme Cold Weather, Fluff, Human AU, Hunters, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Internalized Fatphobia, Long-Distance Relationship, Major Injury, Monsters and Mana, Multi, Nightmares, OT3, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pranks, Pregnancy, Sick Character, Sleep, Sleep Deprivation, Stabbing, Tags updated with each chapter, Tickle Fights, Vampires, almost, child trafficking, concussion, narrator is a character, touchstarved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-04
Updated: 2018-10-03
Packaged: 2019-05-18 05:30:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 100
Words: 71,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14846711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/genericfanatic/pseuds/genericfanatic
Summary: A series of one shots and drabbles of multiple ships and groups all surrounding sleepy fluffy moments.Mostly will be used as warm-ups for me to write in the mornings and get myself going. Ships/characters will be in chapter titles, along with the title of the oneshot. Tags will be updated with each chapter, and specific chapter tags will be put in the notes, if relevant.





	1. Lance/Lotor Lullaby

**Author's Note:**

> Lance is forced to give up his headphones he uses to sleep, and so Lotor attempts to help him out.
> 
> CW's: trouble sleeping

After several years, Lance had a nighttime ritual he followed through religiously. Change into pajamas, brush teeth, drink water, use restroom, put on night time facials, lay in bed, put on relaxing melodies, put on eye mask, take 5 second long breath in, hold for 2, exhale 7 seconds, repeat. 

This was a delicate procedure Lotor had learned to respect ever since the pair had started sharing a bed. Even after *cough cough* activities, Lance insisted on the ritual and refused changing it for anything. If Lotor was exhausted, Lance would let him sleep and go through the ritual as quietly as he could, but he still went through it. 

And now, Lotor knew why.

Pidge recently had borrowed the music player Lance used. Well, ‘borrowed’ maybe wasn’t the right term considering it was….hers. But she apparently needed it for some experiment she was running on something something something and Lance hadn’t hesitated to hand it over. 

Lotor wished he’d hesitated. As soon as Lance lay down, as much of his ritual kept intact as he could manage, something was off. Even with the facial mask, a little crease had appeared in his brow. His leg began twitching, shaking the whole bed. He seemed to be aware of it, every once in a while stopping the leg twitching to tense up, rub the legs together and then lay unnaturally still, until he inevitably had to roll or change positions.

It wasn’t so much that the little movements that kept Lotor up. Well, they did, but that wasn’t what worried him. With the ritual, Lance was reliably asleep in a few minutes. It had been an hour so far, and Lance seemed no more tired and relaxed than he had earlier that day. “Are you alright?” he whispered into the night.

Lance stilled. Lifting his thumb he lifted the night mask to see Lotor in the dark. “I thought you were asleep?” he whispered back. Lotor didn’t answer, waiting for a response to his own question. Lance ignored it. “Did I keep you up?”

Lotor took a deep breath. “Don’t worry about it,” he said, “Are you alright?” he repeated more insistently.”

Hesitant, Lance nodded. “Just thinking,” he said.

Lotor wrapped an arm over him, rubbing his hair behind his ear. “About what?”

Lance let out a single, humorless laugh. “Everything,” he said. “Thoughts jump from one to the other faster than I can keep track. Drifting down passageways and around corners and everything.” Lance got poetic late at night.

Lotor stroked the hair more firmly, watching Lance’s eyes flit closed. “The music usually silences them?” He asked, trying to understand.

Lance swallowed, guilty. “I’ll manage,” he said, “I mean, come on, I’ve had to sleep in worse on missions. Can’t expect to always have my music on me.”

Lotor hummed, not in agreement, just an acknowledgement of what Lance said. He tried to think, then found the words. “Ma kopeto, ta ga so nel,” he sang softly into Lance’s ear, “Ma so pe ko, mala ko sorel.”

“What is that?” Lance whispered.

“A Galran lullaby,” Lotor said back, his voice soft and deep, “Mostly for children. It’s an old one, I’m not sure if they still sing it...but my nanny sang it for me.”

Lance let out a breath of a laugh, “My spoiled prince,” he said. Lotor hummed in disapproval. “What does it mean?”

Lotor sighed, “It encourages children to rest, and dream of all the glory they will win tomorrow.”

“Charming,” Lance said sarcastically. Lotor was one to agree with him, most of the time, about the more barbaric nature of his people, but he had been hoping it would help. “You have a pretty voice, though.” 

Lotor wasn’t sure if he was just trying to reassure him, or if he actually meant it, but he continued carding his long fingers through his hair. Taking a deep breath, he started singing again.

Soon enough, Lance’s perfectly measured breaths evened out to something more natural, his muscles melted beneath Lotor’s touch, and he was perfectly relaxed. 

Lotor smiled. ‘Finally’ he thought silently to himself, and then lay down. He had his own methods of getting to sleep, having learned how to get a proper amount of rest in any environment. Still, he found the best rest he got was at Lance’s side.


	2. Keith/Lance Octopus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith isn't overly comfortable with touches. Lance tries to help, but maybe he doesn't need as much help as he thinks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW touch starved

Keith kept to himself. This was known. Even if he was getting better being around people in general, he still kept his arms crossed and hands to himself. He rarely ever reached out to touch someone else, waiting instead for them to initiate. He became used to some touches, Shiro’s encouraging pats on the back, Hunk’s sudden hugs, even Pidge’s random whacks on the arm. 

It took a little longer to get used to some of Lance’s more intimate touches once the pair got together, but Lance was determined. When they walked together, Lance reached out and held his hand. When they sat beside each other on the couch, Lance wrapped a hand around his waist. When he said goodbye, he gave Keith a peck on the cheek. 

He made sure it was ok, with Keith, of course. He didn’t want to make his boyfriend uncomfortable. But Keith only ever jerked slightly in surprise before settling into the touch. He told him explicitly “I just get surprised, is all,” he shrugged guiltily, as though he was being accused of something, “I do like it. I’m just. Surprised.”

“Alright,” Lance said, trying to be reassuring, “You let me know if you ever need to stop or if you’re not in the mood or whatever, ok? I won’t be offended I promise, no matter WHAT.” 

Keith snorted in that way he did when Lance said something caring and Keith thought it was unnecessary. “Ok, whatever.”

That was when Lance had to remove himself from the situation before he started beating his boyfriend over the head with a stick screaming ‘I! Care! About! You!’

So Lance didn’t stop, but he was constantly watching Keith whenever they touched, looking for any signs of discomfort at all, ready to stop himself if Keith wasn’t going to stop him. Which is why he was nervous the first time Keith slept over. 

They were tired after a long mission, but enjoying the other’s company. Keith was about ready to drag himself back to his own room when Lance suggested he stay without thinking. Now it was Keith who was cautious. “Are you sure?”

Well, Lance had made this bed, now he had to lie in it. “Of course,” he said, putting his own worries aside. If he said no, he knew Keith would take it the wrong way. “Make yourself comfortable, I gotta clean up a bit first.”

He escaped to the bathroom to perform his nightly routine, trying not to think about his very cute, slightly touch-averse boyfriend currently lying in his bed. 

Maybe he should have let Keith leave. He didn’t want to make him uncomfortable, and wouldn’t be able to watch for signs of discomfort once he was asleep. Not that Lance moved too much in his sleep, but he was known to roll occasionally or make little movements. He hoped he wouldn’t wake Keith up.

As he expected, Keith was asleep when he got back into his room. Carefully, and trying not to touch Keith, he tucked himself into the bed. 

Almost instantly, Keith groaned in his sleep, and Lance froze, even going so far as to hold his breath not to wake Keith up. 

Keith surprised him, though, rolling over on his side to face him. Then his arms reached out, honing in on the warm body beside him.

Before Lance could react, Keith had pulled Lance tight into his arms, wrapping his legs around him. The breath Lance had been holding was squeezed out of him with a “Hrrgh.” Keith released him a little for him to breath, but did not let go, and didn’t show any signs he was going to any time soon. 

Carefully, Lance readjusted himself in Keith’s grip, as much as he could. Keith snuggled his face into Lance’s shoulder, enjoying every inch of warmth he could get. 

Once Lance was as comfortable as he could make himself, he looked down at Keith’s face, or what he could see of it, anyway. He wondered if he’d been reading Keith wrong this whole time. Maybe he wasn’t uncomfortable with touches. Maybe instead he was craving them, touchstarved.

Lance sighed. He’d talk about this with Keith in the morning. “Goodnight, little octopus,” he whispered into the dark, and kissed Keith’s forehead. He rubbed Keith’s forearm as he settled, pulling a hum out of the sleeping man. Lance chuckled to himself and settled, ready to sleep himself, wrapped up in Keith’s warmth.


	3. Holt Family--Burnt Pancakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mother's Day is a busy day for the Holt kids, most especially Sam as he tries to wrangle his kids to treat his wife to a nice bed in breakfast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't even think of any cw's here. Food mention?

“Careful, Careful honey,” Sam said, hovering over his young daughter.

“I got it, Dad!” Katie protested. She had been very insistent that since Matt got to carry the present and cards, she could hold the breakfast tray. Sam wasn’t so sure about that, but he was never the best at saying ‘no’ to his kids, especially without his wife there to back him up. 

Matt was already at the top of the stairs, waiting impatiently. Katie was looking very seriously at the plate of food, taking one step at a time. The orange juice had already slipped a few drops down the glass splattering the tray below, but there was still a good 75% of it in the container. The eggs Matt had made were sliding over to mix with the pancakes Sam had made, and the fruit that Katie arranged (it was pre-chopped fruit, Katie just arranged it in the dish. Sam was quite certain Colleen would kill him if he let the 5 year old handle a knife, and that was just a terrible mothers day gift.)

The small vase of flowers was wobbling with every step, threatening to tumble right off the tray onto the carpeted steps below. Sam had to physically restrain himself from reaching over to grab it and stop it’s shaking, but he knew Katie was very proud of being able to do this like a big girl, so he stopped. 

Finally they reached the top step, and Katie very carefully turned to the master bedroom. Matt huffed something under his breath that sounded like ‘finally’ and led the way through the door.

Colleen was laying in bed, eyes closed, but Sam could tell right away she wasn’t asleep. Colleen had never looked that peaceful when she was actually asleep in her life, something that had been quite an adjustment for Sam in their early days. Thankfully, Sam slept like the dead, so once he was out Colleen could roll around and snore to her unconscious heart’s desire.

“Mommy,” Matt said softly, approaching her bed. He refused to use the moniker in front of his friends anymore as it was too childish for a 12 year old, but he very secretly still liked it. “Mommy, wake up.”

Colleen’s eyes snapped open, and she perfectly acted her happy surprise to find her whole family in her bedroom. Based on the noises that were happening downstairs, Sam was guessing she’d ACTUALLY woken up right after Matt had dropped the spaghetti pot trying to get the pans out of the cupboard. “Hello sweetie!” she said, “What’s all this?”

“Happy Mother’s Day!” Matt and Katie said in unison. Katie trotted forward with the tray, trying to lift it up onto the king size bed. Before Sam could jump in to help, Colleen took the edges from her and settled it on her own lap.

“Oh wow!” She said excitedly, “Look at all this! Oh, thank you kids.”

“I made the eggs,” Matt said proudly, putting a thumb to his chest. 

Colleen chuckled, “Well they look delicious.” She took a nice big forkfull of the eggs, which was a bit overly trusting in Sam’s opinion. “They TASTE delicious!” Matt beamed. 

Katie struggled her way up to the bed to snuggle against her mother. “I arranged the fruit,” She said, “And dad made the pancakes. He said he burnt them on purpose because it was an old family recipe.”

Colleen raised an eyebrow at her husband, who smiled innocently. Okay, maybe he was a bit too critical of his children’s cooking when he couldn’t even make a proper pancake. But hey, it was mothers day, aka International ‘its the thought that counts’ day. “I wonder what Grammy Holt would think of him saying that,” Colleen said, “Maybe I should tell her when he calls later today.” 

Sam froze. “That’s….not necessary.”

She chuckled, eating some of the fruit under Katie’s watchful eye. 

“Mom, we made you this,” Matt said, shoving the box by her side.

Carefully balancing Katie, the tray, and now her gift, she attempted to open it up. “Oh how nice,” she said, “It’s…..a fan?”

“Why don’t you turn it on,” Sam suggested. 

Colleen did and the tiny blades spun around, lighting up to read ‘World’s best mom.’ “Awwww, thank you guys!” She pulled Matt in to squeeze both children. “You made this yourself?” 

“Katie handed me parts,” Matt said, rubbing his sister’s head, “But I did all the hard work.”

Sam and Colleen chuckled. “You did an excellent job.” She looked up, “Sam, get into this group hug this instant.”

“Alright, alright,” he said, leaning down awkwardly, sandwiching his kids between their parent’s love.


	4. Shiro/Allura Warm Milk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro has trouble sleeping, and Allura tries to help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: PTSD Nightmares, Some violent imagery, Anxiety

It wasn’t a memory, nothing as concrete as that. 

It was flashes, feelings….a taste of blood in his mouth, a tight pull of dirt and sweat on his skin, a shake in his bones, fear in his heart.

The images were a swirl of his past and present. He saw Voltron, aliens, his mother, Keith in his garrison uniform but piloting the black lion, dead alien, Kerberos, Haggar, blood blood blood, Matt and Sam, his school as a child, being strapped down by Iverson, Iverson working with Ulaz, a dead alien with Shiro’s hands covered in dark navy blue alien blood--

“Shiro?”

Shiro gasped and sat up blinking. The images kept flashing before his eyes as he closed and opened his eyes, vision slowly becoming clearer. He was in a room, a safe room, he felt before he recognized where he was. The realization only hit when he met a familiar pair of eyes in the dark. “A..” he swallowed, his throat dry, “Allura?”

“Shhh,” she said, reaching forward to wipe tears he hadn’t realized had fallen down his cheeks. “Breath….breath slow.”

He did as asked, although it was shaky. There was a light in the room, and he realized it was his own metal arm, glowing, “Oh, Quiznack,” he muttered, powering it down, “I’m...I’m so sorry Allura.”

“It’s ok,” Allura said, running her hand through his hair.

“I could have,” tears were welling up again, “I could have hurt you, I---”

“Shhh,” Allura pulled him into her arms, resting his head against her chest. “I’m ok. You’re ok. You weren’t going to hurt me.”

“But I could--”

“Hey,” She kissed his head and sat back, looking into his face. “You didn’t, though. And besides, I’m a bit tougher than that.”

That pulled a single chuckle out of him, but he was still stressed. “I’m sorry,” he said, “You must have been sleeping, and I--”

“It’s ok,” Allura whispered, “You don’t need to worry about me right now. Just focus on yourself, just for a minute.”

Shiro nodded, though his worry didn’t dissipate. “I’m trying,” Shiro said, “I’m just...I’m not strong enough...I can’t...I try and push it away but….I’m not…”

“You are the strongest person I know,” Allura said, “Mentally and emotionally, anyway, I could toss you like a sack of kalleno nuts.” he chuckled again, “But no one should...no one CAN do everything themselves. I know I can’t. That’s why I have Coran and the paladins and you. And you have me. You have us.” He nodded, knowing that….logically. It was a little harder to process it emotionally. “Here, can you...can you wait just a moment? I’ll be right back.”

Shiro didn’t really want to let her go, but found himself nodding. She kissed his head, unwrapping herself from him and walking out the door. 

Allura’s room was large, and quiet. Too large. Too quiet. Shiro felt drowned in the empty space, backing up to hit the headboard. A man as large as he was, it was not often he felt like a small child. Especially not after all he’d gone through. But sitting here….all he wanted to do was curl up like a toddler and block out the rest of the universe, even from his own mind. 

Allura returned soon, holding a glass of steaming white liquid. “Here,” she said, coming over to sit by him again, a comforting presence, “Lance told me warm milk can occasionally help humans sleep. Would you...I mean, does it…”

“Sometimes,” Shiro said, “I would probably prefer chamomile tea, but this is nice.” he took the warm mug, letting it warm up his hands. 

She scooted closer. “What’s a chamomile?”

He chuckled again. “Don’t worry about it.”

She didn’t, instead rubbing little circles into his back and humming comforting words until his universe was calm once again.


	5. Keith/Lance/Hunk Guardian Angels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith Hunk and Lance have a movie night, which leaves Hunk wide awake while the other two sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW horror movies

Hunk loved his boyfriends. He didn’t believe how lucky he was to have not one but two beautiful guys who loved and cared for them. He was so happy now that they were all together. As a naturally cuddly person, he was happy to be able to curl up on the couch with them.

It was their movie night, and so they’d stayed up late, Hunk in the center so Keith and Lance could protect him during the scary parts. Damn Keith’s love of horror films. Next time it was Hunk’s turn to choose, he was picking the cheesiest, fluffiest animated movie he could. 

Of course, what he wasn’t expecting was that his two guardian angels would fall asleep curled up against him, heads on his shoulders. Normally he wouldn’t mind, but uh. Well, first off, both his arms are trapped. Second, he still had a popcorn bowl on his lap, only some buttery kernels left. Third, the position that was really comfortable and snuggly a few hours ago was now giving him a crick in his neck, not to mention he was a combination of two warm and too cold. 

Fourth and most concerning, the horror movie Keith had them watch was putting all sort of images into Hunk’s mind, creeping in from the dark edges of the room. The tv was still on, the menu showing a loop from the video playing over and over. Hunk couldn’t even reach the remote to turn it off.

He looked down at their sleeping faces. They were both so peaceful. Even when they were all together in a triad, Lance and Keith were usually bickering every chance they got, even through the movies while Hunk shut his eyes. Admittedly, their argument about how ‘pointless’ the death of the lead woman was a nice way of distracting himself.

And he knew, in part, that was the point sometimes. Even though Keith and Lance were subjecting Hunk to this torture, they made sure not to make it too scary, and to comfort him when he needed it. Which was possibly why the pair of them were latched so hard on his arms now. 

If it was just one of them, he might have been able to maneuver himself in such a way that he could pick them up and carry them to bed. He had to pick, though, or just wake the both of them. Keith was the obvious choice for subjecting him to “Blood Vacation 3” which answered the question, if there was a blood vacation 1 and 2 why didn’t the people just decide to stay home?

Then again, Lance hadn’t gotten his nightly routine done yet, which meant he’d probably wake in the morning complaining about dirt and such, so maybe he’d actually appreciate being woken up. 

The choice was ultimately taken away from him, as a loud CREAK sounded somewhere dark behind him and Hunk accidentally let out a yelp, popcorn flying and landing in grease stains on their pajamas. 

Lance and Keith shot awake, blinking and rubbing their eyes as they retraced their memory to figure out where they were and what was going on. “You alright Hunk?” Keith asked, the first to be functioning. 

“Oh, gosh, sorry guys,” Hunk said, “There was just...there was this noise, and I just…I’m sorry, you can go back to sleep.”

“Nah, my back’s never going to forgive for this,” Lance said, standing up to crack his spine. He picked up the popcorn bowl, carrying it to the kitchen to be dealt with later. 

Keith yawned, plucking himself off the couch too, and taking out the disk for the movie and turning off the television, leaving them in darkness. Hunk shuddered again, only making out a dark silhouette of his boyfriend as he made his way back to the couch. “Hey, it’s alright,” Keith said, “It was just a dumb movie, none of it was real.” 

Hunk hummed in reluctant agreement as Keith helped him get up. Lance re-joined them at this point and the three sleepily made their way to Hunk’s room, where they’d shoved in an extra bed to make space for everyone. 

Keith had already fallen back asleep, tucked between Hunk and the wall, by the time Lance finished his skin care routine and curled in on Hunk’s other side. Within minutes, Lance was asleep as well. And Hunk didn’t have the heart to mention that between the two of them, he was kinda overheating.


	6. Lance/Pidge 3 strikes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge continually refuses to go to bed, so Lance takes drastic measures.
> 
> Can be read romantic or platonic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m uploading from my phone today so sorry if something gets screwed up

Pidge, you need to sleep.”

“One minute,” Pidge said, eyes glowing against the computer screen.

Lance reached over the screen to grab her chin, lifting it to face him. “That’s what you said an hour ago.”

Pidge did not fight his hand, just let her eyes trail back down, looking around his hand to try and keep it up. “Pidge, you’re making me have to do something I don’t want to do.”

“Look, just go to bed,” Pidge told him, breaking his hold, “I got caught up in an algorithm and I just wanna finish up before I break my rhythm and forget what I was doing.”

“Pidge,” Lance said, warningly. He sighed as she ignored him, “alright, remember, this is for your own good.”

Pidge had just enough time to raise an eyebrow confused as Lance forcibly shut her laptop. “Hey!” She snatched at it, but using seemingly superhuman speed, Lance pulled it away, jumping up to place it high up on the fridge. 

“Give it back!” She pounded on his arm with tiny fists, “dick face, when did you become Usain fucking Bolt?”

“I’m not, your reflexes are just way too out of whack,” he said, “you haven’t slept in well over 24 hours and you’re shutting down.”

“Ha,” she laughed, “That’s not even close to my record.”

Lance did not look impressed, but rather overly concerned. She hated when he looked like that, making her feel guilty for not taking care of herself. Lance was a pro at the self care game, and often tried to inflict his ways on her. “Fine.” He said, “if you can get your laptop back, on your own, I’ll leave you alone for the night.”

Pidge looked up at the fridge. She was used to climbing things, spent more than her fair share of time in the vents. “Deal,” She said, nodding.

She grabbed the handle to the fridge and pulled to carry herself up. Instantly every single muscle in her body protested. She could practically hear them groaning. Maybe that was just her.

Lance was smirking, watching her struggle. Determined, she took a jump.she barely got an inch off the ground. 

Still determined, she grabbed the handle with a tighter grip. This time when she jumped, the door opened and she latched herself on as tight as she could, swinging directly into Lance.

“Okay,” Lance said, grabbing hold of her and plucking her off the fridge. “Three strikes, your out kid.”

She groaned in frustration, but her muscles were too happy to be supported by someone else to really complain. Instead she lay limp, forcing Lance to readjust his grip, perfecting the princess carry.

She wasn’t awake long enough to remember reaching her bed. 

 

In the morning, Lance poked her. “Piiiidge,” he sang, “Pidge-pie. It’s time to get up. 

Pidge didn’t even groan or roll over to avoid him. She didn’t have to, being too far asleep.

Lance checked her pulse just to make sure she wasn’t literally dead to the world, but she seemed ok. “Alright, few more minutes,” he said, jumping in to rest beside her.


	7. Coran/Alfor Interrupted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coran and Alfor have one night to sneak off together....but fate and young princesses might have other plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Pre-amble to sexytimes, no actual sexytimes.

“Are you sure about this?” Coran said, entering Alfor’s suite. He had loved his King for a long time, both as a King and a man. The King had mourned his wife for a long time but he had seemed ready to move on. Still, Coran was protective of him, and didn’t want to push Alfor into something he’d regret.

“Coran,” Alfor said, exasperated, “If you ask me one more time, I’m going to start to think you are the one who is hesitant about this.”

Coran smirked. “Never my King.” 

Alfor pulled him tight into an embrace and lay kisses along his neck. “Then come, advisor,” he pulled him over to the bed.

“Oh, not quite yet, I think,” Coran laughed. 

Alfor shook his head, snorting as he sat back. “Come here.”

Coran delicately kneeled on the bed, sitting back on his feet as Alfor held him, leaning in to kiss him properly. He smiled, his mustache pressing against Alfor’s beard he’d been growing out. 

It had taken a long time for them to get to this point. Romance wasn’t easy for a King at all, especially not with his closest advisor, and especially not with all Voltron was needed in the universe. The two of them had hardly gotten a moment alone to even talk about any potential feelings, let alone properly resolve them. 

Coran had never hoped his feelings for his monarch would be returned. He only wanted to stand alongside him, serving him as best he could. Even if he meant he had to pine silently. 

It was nothing clean, they hardly had time for that. More fair to say the pair had fell together, leaning up against each other for support until support had turned to more. 

Coran didn’t want messy. Not with Alfor. Messy lead to complications. Messy lead to him having to leave again. He’d never stayed in one place often, traveling the galaxy, fighting what needed to be fought, and collecting knowledge and stories from the strangest corners of the universe. Alfor always loved listening to his stories, and he loved telling them. He had a home here, in Lion Castle, the ship his grandfather had built. He didn’t want to leave.

Coran insisted that he court the king properly, and quietly, so as to not hurt Alfor’s reputation. Alfor was a little amused that Coran cared for him so deeply, but accepted. 

It had taken over a year to get to this point, silent stares across the hall, quiet moments in Alfor’s study, quick kisses between meetings. Finally, they had one night together, no obligations, no one worried about either of them or thinking of either of them, nothing to get in between a lovely night of---

“Daddy?”

The door creaked open and Coran and Alfor jumped apart. Allura’s snow-white head peaked into the room, sniffling. 

Alfor composed himself as best as he could, slightly out of breath. “Allura, dear, what is it?”

“I had a scary dream.” she said, coming into the room and snuggling a plush figure of her father’s red lion.

“Oh, no, sweetheart,” Alfor said, sitting up. “It was just a dream, it wasn’t real.”

“Can I snuggle with you?” She asked, innocently.

Alfor looked as surreptitiously as he could over to Coran, but not surreptitiously enough. “Coran?”

“Uh….hello, princess,” Coran said, meekly. “Your father and I were...we were um, talking...about….uh….”

“Can I snuggle with you too?” Allura asked.

Coran and Alfor sighed, looking at each other. “Sure darling,” Coran said. Alfor opened up the blankets for Allura to jump in, nestling between the pair of them. 

Coran and Alfor’s eyes met over the girl, who clutched them both tightly. They both shrugged, sighed, and held the one thing in the universe that meant more to them than each other.


	8. Shiro/Matt Crush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matt's reading in bed, while Shiro is tired grumpy, and a little overly petty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: uhhh.....annoying boyfriends? idk.

“Shiro,” Matt muttered. Shiro only hummed. “Shiro, you’re crushing me.”

Shiro hummed again in acknowledgement, but did nothing to change his position. Matt had stayed up late reading again, so that when Shiro came to bed, the light was still on. He was now curled up, laying on top of Matt and arms wrapped around his stomach in a rather passive aggressive display of affection.

“Shiro your fat head is crushing my rib cage,” Matt said, sharper than before. 

Shiro turned his head so his chin was digging into Matt’s bruised rib cage instead. “Problem?” he asked.

Matt sighed. “Look, you can turn the lights off if you want, ok? I’ve got a little reading light in my nightstand.”

Shiro groaned, nuzzling into Matt’s chest and re-adjusting himself so he lay up higher on him, basically crushing his whole body other than arms and head and preventing him from even putting his book down.

“Oh my god you ginormous baby,” Matt said, struggling to find his bookmark, a task significantly more difficult with a 200 pound weight spread out on his chest. Shiro smiled to himself as Matt groaned, finally reaching his target. 

The book was set aside and a hand combed through Shiro’s short hair. Shiro hummed, happier this time. “I was enjoying that book you know,” Matt said, continuing to reward Shiro for his bad behavior. “Just getting to the good part.”

“Mmmm,” Shiro said, nestling on top of Matt, “What happened?”

“The princess was learning fighting skills so she could return to the tower and protect the dragon from evil knights who would try and slay him for his hoard.”

“Good for her,” Shiro murmured. 

“My sister gave me this book,” Matt said, “she said I’m like the wizard.”

“Mm?”

“He’s the Princess’s brother. Kinda spindly.”

“Mmmm.” Shiro hummed, “Seems right.” 

Matt whacked him on the head. “You know I can’t turn the lights out if you’re on top of me.”

This lead Shiro to a bit of a dilemma. The entire reason he’d started being annoying was so that Matt would stop reading and turn out the lights. Now he was like a dog chasing a car, unsure what to do if he caught it. He could be nice so they could snuggle together and go to sleep, but….he liked being annoying. 

“Alright,” Matt said “Sometimes these things are a matter of brains over brawn.”

Matt leveraged himself on the wall at the side of the bed, using it to surprise Shiro and push him over. 

Of course, the bed was kind of small...so once their positions were flipped, they teetered on the edge. Shiro smiled up at him. “Don’t you dare!” Matt shot as the same thought entered both their heads. 

With a gentle turn, Shiro rolled them off of the bed, tumbling in a bundle of blankets and the one pillow Matt had managed to grab in a last ditch effort to hold his balance. 

Chuckling and far too proud of himself, Shiro rolled off of Matt, holding him close. “You are such a jerk,” Matt muttered, pulling away from the hug. 

Shiro whined, looking for affection. Matt still refused. “Big Stinky Jerk.” Shiro whined again, but Matt held firm. 

Sighing, Shiro picked up his over-tired body off the floor, picking up Matt with him. He lay Matt on the bed, tucking him in with his pillow and blanket. Then he shut off the lights himself, scooting into the bed alongside him. “Still a big stinky jerk?”

It was Matt’s turn to hum, considering. “Yup,” he said, not able to see but knowing Shiro was pouting, “buuuut you’re my big stinky jerk.”

That appeased Shiro as he snuggled into him.


	9. Keith/Lance Vampire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And they were TOMBMATES
> 
> Oh my god, they were tombmates
> 
> The Author experiments with some AUs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cw: vampires, obviously, a dagger, running from vamp-killing hunters. Blood.

Lance liked staying outside longer than was probably a good idea, long enough to see the edges of pink painting the sky. He took a deep breath of the air, still cool from the long night, dew on the graveyard grass. 

He sighed as the air turned warmer. Soon the sun would creep over the trees, and turn him to dust. He turned, going into his crypt, ready to turn in for the day. He used to love summer, but now he preferred the cold turn of winter, just so that day was shorter and he could stay outside longer. 

Ah well. No use worrying about that now. He didn’t mind being a vampire, really, though he knew several vamps who did. He worked at a bloodbank over the night shift. Blood went bad faster than people thought, it wasn’t like he was stealing any from a human who might need it. Plus, the blood he stole he could give to other vampires, nice vamps like him who didn’t want to hurt people, help them to support a decent lifestyle. Overall he lived a kind of normal life. Afterlife. Whatever. 

He fluffed up the satin that lined his coffin best he could. It was getting a little worn with the years, he may have to replace it soon. 

He was shocked at the sudden knocking at his crypt door. He frowned at it….none of his human friends knew where he stayed….and it was nearly day, too late for vampires. He risked death just opening the door. 

Of course, there were always hunters….or worse, other monsters. 

The knocking became more urgent, not stopping. Lance reached over and grabbed an old dagger he was buried with. Slowly, he approached the door, that was still pounding away. Steeling himself, he opened it, dagger raised. 

From the other side, a figure stumbled inside, his skin smoking. It took him a moment to realize it was, in fact, one of his friends. “Keith!” He said, lowering the dagger, “What the heck were you doing outside, the sun’s practically up!”

“No kidding,” Keith said, smoothing down his hair. Lance could see some of his flaking skin, healing now in the darkness. “Hunter’s raided my crypt. Luckily I was out, saw them when I was returning. Ran before they saw me. This is the closest place I could think of.”

“Geez,” Lance said. He’d heard rumors of more hunters in the area, but that….that made the hair on his neck stand right up. “Yeah, dude, stay here, you need a blood pack?” 

Keith shook his head. “I’m fine, I’m….I’m fine.” He didn’t need air, but he took a deep breath anyway. “I’m….I’ll be okay, I’ll be out of your hair once night hits.”

“Dude, it’s not a worry,” Lance said, “Come on, you probably need a rest.” 

Lance lead him further inside, until he realized there was just one coffin sitting there. “Uh…” he started, “You….you can take it. I’ll be fine.” 

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Keith said, “This is your crypt, I just barged in here. You take it, I’ll sleep on the floor.”

“The floor is cement, Keith,” Lance said, “Even dead, you can get a bad back.”

Keith swallowed, looking between the coffin and Lance. “We could…” he said, “We could share it.”

Luckily Lance hadn’t eaten blood in a while, so didn’t have enough to blush. “Uh,” he started, “Sure, yeah that….that makes sense.”

Awkwardly, the both of them clambered into the coffin. Lance lowered the hood, leaving them in darkness. 

The coffin, meant for one person, pushed the both of them together, their entire bodies pressed into a line. Lance tried to cross his arms over his chest, his normal sleeping position, but that jammed his elbow into Keith’s chest. “Oh, sorry,” Lance said, putting his hands at his sides instead.

“‘S fine,” Keith muttered. 

Lance turned on his side, readjusting to try and give Keith more space. “Better?” Keith turned on his side as well, so they faced each other, nodding. “Good….good….”

Reluctantly, Lance closed his eyes. His hand lay resting between them. 

Shortly before he fell asleep, he felt Keith’s own hand encapsulating his. He didn’t know if that was just an accident, or Keith believing Lance was already asleep or what, but he didn’t protest it. It actually helped him sleep better.


	10. Hunk/Lance Pajamas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunk and Lance had always been best friends, but once they take the step into something else, Hunk tries to figure where their dynamic stands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Anxiety, cuddles

“Aha,” Lance said, reaching into Hunk’s drawers without bothering to ask for permission. “My favorite.” 

He’d pulled out a large yellow T-Shirt, and a pair of green boxers with little turtles swimming on them. “Alright, I’m gonna go change and do my nightly routine,” he kissed Hunk on the cheek, “Be back in a minute.”

Hunk didn’t respond, but Lance was already on his way and didn’t notice. 

The bathroom door closed, and Hunk took a deep breath. Why was he so nervous? He was friends with Lance for a very long time, and Lance had stayed over a hundred times before. They were comfortable in each other’s space. There was nothing to be nervous about.

Except, this was the first time Lance was staying over since the two of them had started dating. The line between best friend and boyfriend had become more and more blurred as time went on. They’d always been physically affectionate with one another, good for a laugh with each other. They went out together. They went to school dances together, once Lance inevitably was rejected from the entire female student body of their school. 

The differences now were really in what they didn’t do. Lance didn’t flirt around anymore. They didn’t greet each other with tackle hugs, replacing them with hand holding and shy blushes. They didn’t just casually say ‘I love you’ anymore, not since it had a different meaning to it. 

And they didn’t have sleepovers anymore. Until now. 

Hunk sat on his bed, thinking. His moms had agreed to let his boyfriend stay over, as long as they kept the door open. It was Lance, his moms LOVED Lance, they may have been more excited about them dating than Hunk was. Then again, they didn’t have to deal with the nerves Hunk did. 

Lance came out of the bathroom, dressed in Hunk’s pajamas. This was unfair, he was too cute, the neck of the t-shirt hanging down to expose his collarbone, the boxers hanging low and loose down to his knees. “You haven’t changed yet?” Lance asked, “Come on, you always said my routine takes forever, what’ve you been doing?”

“Uhh…” panicking was probably the wrong answer. “Just….reading something on my phone.”

“Meeemes?” Lance said, coming to kneel on the bed beside him, leaning on his shoulder. 

Hunk snorted, “Nah, just an e-mail.”

“Booooo,” Lance said, slipping off and resting on the bed. “Go get changed so we can snuggle.”

That made Hunk stiffen up. Snuggling? With his boyfriend? In BED? He was only 17, he was too young for a heart attack. “Um, actually,” he said, “Maybe….maybe I should sleep on the couch.”

Lance frowned up at him, confused, and maybe a little hurt. “Why?”

“Just, I mean….” Hunk swallowed, “We’re boyfriends now, so, like...maybe we shouldn’t…”

Lance propped himself up on his elbow. “Do you think I’m going to make a move on you?”

“No,” Hunk said, maybe a touch too quickly, “I just mean...things are….things are different now! I mean, sleeping in the same bed together, words we say, touches, kisses...it all means something….more.”

Lance smiled, “Look, we don’t have to do anything that you don’t want to. But I’ve always ‘meant’ my affection for you. Now that we’re dating things can have as much or as little significance as we want. And I just...I like snuggling with you.” Lance shrugged. “We’re still best friends. Just best friends who are dating.”

Hunk smiled, feeling his heart warming, as he remembered exactly why he did love him. He sighed and kissed Lance’s head, ruffling his hair to make his face scrunch up. “I’ll be right back then.”

A pajama change, toothbrushing and face washing later, Hunk came in and climbed in beside Lance. Lance automatically reached out, but held himself back. Chuckling, Hunk pulled his arms over, earning Lance snuggles. 

Hunk smiled as they settled in. “Hey,” he said in the darkness. “I….I love you.”

He could more feel Lance’s smile than see it. “I love you too,” he said, easily as breathing. It made Hunk wonder why he was so concerned at all.


	11. Shiro/Matt/Allura Alien

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matt is unsure what to do when Shiro brings home a princess from space. But maybe, its not so bad.

“You know,” Matt said, over the crashes in the kitchen, “Most astronauts bring their loved ones a moon rock. Or like, astronaut ice cream.” Another crash, this one sounding like glass, “Not Alien Princesses.”

Shiro shrugged with a “heh” as the married couple watched the princess explore their kitchen. “I didn’t know where else to bring her. She’s stranded, her people are gone. I couldn’t let the Garrison get her.”

Matt sighed, knowing he was right, but couldn’t help teasing either. “Plus she’s beautiful.”

Shiro’s neck snapped over to him, trying to figure out what game his husband was playing. “It’s not…” he said, “I mean that wasn’t why--”

“I know,” Matt said, reassuring him. “But I mean, she is.” Matt could always read Shiro like a book, and he saw the way he looked at her. It was the same look Shiro gave Matt. 

It was hard not to be jealous. He knew Shiro loved him. He wouldn’t do anything no matter his feelings. And it wasn’t like he didn’t understand those feelings. Like he said, Allura was very pretty, and more than that, kind and sweet, but clearly with a temper of her own, and a brilliant mind. It’s like she popped out of a Disney film. “Matt,” Shiro said, “You don’t...I mean she isn’t…”

Matt kissed his cheek to stop his blubbering. After Shiro had lost his arm and gotten a scar, he was just glad to have him back at all. He made his way over to Allura, who was banging a fork and spoon together. “Hey, Allura?”

“Your bakelromps are broken,” she told him.

He blinked, confused, “My what?” 

“Bakelromps,” she repeated, holding up the utensils, “They’ve broken apart. The Bakel and the Romp are completely split.”

Matt tried not to snort. “That’s a fork and spoon. They’re supposed to be separate.”

She frowned at them. “How inefficient.” 

“Anyway, Allura,” he said, “It’s about time to go to bed. Are you alright with the couch?” When she looks confused, Matt motions to the couch. “We don’t have a guest room, sorry. But I can get you some spare blankets.”

Allura looks hesitant. “There’s no bed?”

“Just our bed,” Matt said, “But like, we’ll be in it.”

“That’s ok!” Allura said, looking actually eager, “I’m small, I won’t need much space.”

Shiro and Matt looked at each other. “Look, Allura,” Shiro said, “We...we can’t--”

“It’s fine,” Matt interrupted, getting a shocked look from Shiro. “I mean it. It’s a King, we can all fit.”

Shiro frowned at him, his face reading ‘what game are you playing?’ Allura was delighted. “Thank you!” She hugged around his neck. Matt felt himself flush. 

Allura trotted off to the bedroom to prepare for sleep. Shiro put a hand on Matt’s shoulder. “I thought you were worried about me,” he said, “Should I have been worried about you?”

Matt snorted, patting his husband’s back. “Why don’t we stop worrying about each other, and just...love each other, like we’ve always done?”

Shiro smiled, pulling him in for a kiss. 

When they made their way to the bedroom, Allura was already settled in the dead center of the bed. She beamed at the both of them, not noticing anything off with the couple. 

Shiro and Matt got in, just as they always did, as though there wasn’t an alien sitting between them. 

Allura snuggled into the both of them. “Thank you,” She muttered, sleepily, “For everything.”

Shiro and Matt exchanged looks with each other. It was a smile. “Of course,” Matt said. 

“Not a problem,” Shiro agreed. 

Slowly the 3 of them drifted off to sleep.


	12. Slav/Sven Scarf

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After being stranded on a frozen planet, Slav struggles to fix their communicator and save Sven at the same time. Lucky he has so many hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Injury, concussion, extreme cold weather,

“Slav,” Sven said, shivering, “What’s the percent chance we’ll freeze to death on this planet?”

Slav knew, of course he knew. With his own fur and metabolic rate, he would freeze in 4 days without external heat or rescuing. With Sven’s lack of fur, he had less than 24 vargas.

“Don’t worry about it!” he said, continuing to work on their disabled ship. He already calculated 0% chance to get in flying condition again, but the Communicator was salvageable, if he cannibalized the rest of the ships systems. Including life support. “There’s a 68.9% chance the Guns of Gamera are already looking for us. It won’t be a problem.

Sven lay back, gripping his stomach. His old blaster scar was acting up ever since their crash, so all he could do was sit there, helpless. Not that he could be much help now the ship was down. He was the brawn to Slav’s brains, and brawn wasn’t needed right now.

Sven shivered again. He could really use Slav over by him now, but he didn’t dare interrupt. Slav’s many hands were all going faster than Sven could see. Or it was just his vision was getting blurry. 

With an audible ‘thump’ Sven fell backward, unable to keep himself up any longer. 

Slav looked over his shoulder, spotting Sven with his eyes fluttering open and shut. “No, no, no.” Abandoning his work with the communicator, Slav slithered back over to Sven, “No no, Sven, stay awake. Don’t fall asleep.”

“I’m alright,” Sven said, drowsy, “Just tired.”

Slav weaved a pair of hands through Sven’s hair. “Looks like you might have hit your head in the crash. Why didn’t you tell me?!” he demanded, calculations for Sven’s survival dwindling. 

Sven, “Doesn’t hurt that bad. I’ll be ok.” He took a shuddering breath, “You need to get back to the communications tower, or we’ll both be trapped here.” 

“If I leave you, there’s a 49.2% chance you’ll slip into a coma.” Slav said, holding him.

“49.2, huh?” Sven said, smiling weakly, “That’s less than 50. Not bad.”

Not great either, Slav wanted to say. Thinking quickly, he grabbed ahold of Sven by the armpits, pulling him over to the communications tower, propping him up. It was like hauling a comet! He always knew Sven was huge be never truly appreciated how much of his size was just solid, packed muscle.

“Stay with me, Sven,” Slav said, using half his hands to continue his work at a significantly slower pace, the other half holding Sven up and occasionally slapping him in the face. 

“I don’t think,” Sven said, as Slav practically punched him in the cheek, “I don’t think this is proper medical treatment.” 

“You can’t fall unconscious,” Slav said, wrapping his tail around Sven’s neck.

“Mm,” Sven hummed, “That feels nice. Like a heated scarf.” His voice was slurred, and it made Slav nervous.

Slav squeezed around him tighter. “Hold on, Sven,” he said, working as fast as he could, “Just hold on.”

24 Vargas later, they were on a Gamera ship, Sven rushed to the medical wing, Slav staying right by his side. 

The doctors said they had done all they could do, now all he needed was rest. They allowed Slav to stay, and he couldn’t help wrapping his long tail around Sven again. “Mm,” Sven hummed, and Slav wasn’t sure if it was just a groan in his sleep, but he perked up. Finally, Sven turned his head into Slav’s curled up body. “Warm,” he muttered. 

“Sven?” Slav asked, bending his head down to look in his partner’s face, “Are you awake?”

“Mmmmmm,” Sven hummed, his eyes opening a glimmer. “Awake might be an exaggeration. But I’m here. Thanks to you.”

Slav might have cried out of laughter, hugging Sven with all limbs available. “Don’t ever do that to me again,” he demanded.

That pulled a chuckle out of Sven. “C’mon. What are the chances of that happening?”

Slav sighed. “0. But the chances of you dying from one of your many perilous injuries decreases significantly as long as I’m with you.”

Sven smiled. “Then with you is where I’ll stay.”


	13. Lance/Lotor Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance goes to grab his phone he left behind at school, but ends up bringing home more than he bargained for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Implied Child Abuse/Neglect

Lance tiptoed as silently as he could, trying not to be caught by security. It was an open secret that the door to the drama wing didn’t shut correctly, a problem the teacher wasn’t eager to report, as it meant on their weekend rehearsals the students could get in and get started before the teacher got there.

It was also useful for Lance right now as he had left his phone in the drama wing during rehearsal. He could have kicked himself when he realized it, but no way was he going to let it just sit there and possibly get stolen. He didn’t trust any of the students. Besides, he was going to lose like 5 snapchat streaks, no way was he letting that happen.

He jiggled the lock until it opened, creeping his way inside. He was pretty sure he’d left it in costumes. 

God, he wish he had a light. But his light was on his phone. Of course. Using memory and touch he made his way to the costume closet, stepping through and---

Tripping on his face.

What he was not expecting was to hear someone else yell out. “What the--” the other voice said, and a light shined on him. Lance covered his eyes as it shone directly into his eyes. “Lance? What’re you doing here?”

Lance squinted, recognizing the voice. “Lotor?” he asked, “What are YOU doing here?”

“I asked you first!” Lotor said, childishly.

“Fine, I came looking for my phone. Happy?” Lance said, picking himself up off the ground, he looked down, his eyes adjusting to the bright light. Lotor was tucked into a sleeping bag, surrounded by a duffel bag with clothes strewn out of it, and a bag of McDonalds take out. “Lotor were you...were you sleeping in here?”

“Hmm?” Lotor said, looking at his own belongings, which the longer Lance looked, the more it seemed like he was camping in the old closet, “Oh, I...I mean...I have an early meeting with a teacher tomorrow and I had to stay late last night, so I...it made sense just to stay here, just this once and….”

“And pack all your clothes and belongings with you?” Lance said, nodding at the duffle bag. 

Lotor swallowed. “Ah...that...I mean I...I was…” He swallowed. He was usually quicker with his lies, but maybe he was just caught off guard by waking up.

Lance squatted down in the light, looking Lotor over more closely. His usually pristine hair was a bit dull and ratty, his eyes sunken. Hell, he even looked a little thinner than usual. “Lotor how long have you been staying here?”

Lotor shrugged nonchalantly, looking away. “About a week,” he said, “It’s fine, I just...I’ve been taking care of myself fine.” 

Lance didn’t believe him for a second. “Why?” he asked.

Lotor shrugged again. “Parents kicked me out,” he said, “Its probably for the better, I’m...I’m glad to be out of there. And I’m 18 now so it’s not like they HAVE to keep me anymore. It’s fine. I’m taking care of myself….fine.”

“Oh, Lotor,” Lance said, sighing. “Give me one minute.” Lance stood up and went to the back table where the fittings were done. As expected, his phone was sitting there, exactly where he left it. He came back over to Lotor who was watching him, curiously. “C’mon, get up. I’ll help you with your stuff.”

“What?” Lotor asked. “What are you doing?”

“I’m taking you home,” Lance said, “You don’t think I’m just going to leave you to sleep in the costume closet, do you?”

Lotor looked unsure. “You don’t have to.”

“Yeah, I do,” Lance said, offering him a hand, “Come on, up and at ‘em.”

Lotor was still hesitant, but took his hand. 

A while later, Lotor was set up in Lance’s room, trying to take up as little space as possible. “I can take the couch if thats easier.”

“Don’t make this weird, dude,” Lance said, climbing into bed with him. “Just relax, ok? Those wooden floors can’t have been good for your back.”

Lance was expecting more protesting, but the moment Lotor actually relaxed on the mattress, he drifted off to sleep. Lance shook his head, watching. He looked so peaceful, now.

Lance sighed and rested next to him, wondering what they were going to do tomorrow.


	14. Keith/Pidge Midnight Snacks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith and Pidge are pros at the all-nighter game, so think nothing of it when they plan an all-night movie watching extravaganza
> 
> Can be read as platonic or romantic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cw: Sleep Deprivation

“Candy?”

“Check. Popcorn?”

“Hot and Buttered. Soda?”

“Fizzy. Netflix?”

“Booted up and ready.”

Keith and Pidge high fived, settling in and punching pillows to make themselves comfortable.

They were in for a long haul, a whole night filled with the best conspiracy documentaries that netflix had to offer. Was it a dumb idea? Probably. Unhealthy? Certainly according to their friends. But their friends were weak. Pidge and Keith were all-nighter pros. 

After the first one was done, they both felt jittery, Pidge’s leg literally bouncing. She liked being around Keith because Keith never complained about her doing things like that. She was half sure he didn’t even notice. 

About half way through the next documentary, they hit the midnight mark, and Pidge caught Keith rubbing his eyes. “Dude, you getting tired?”

“No!” he protested quickly, blinking rapidly to come back to himself. “Just...something in my eye.”

Pidge handed him a soda, “Refuel man. We still have a long way to go.”

He nodded, determined and chugged the soda down. 

Less than half an hour later he regretted that. He was burping up his lungs and had to disturb his perfect nest to rush to the bathroom and pee. Pidge was starting to feel some effects too. Her teeth were starting to feel weird in her mouth, as sugar coated as they were, and her body was dreading having any more snack food. She craved substance, and quickly went to her cabinet to make a little sandwich. There, that should hold her. 

Through the next movie, the both of them couldn’t stop giggling. They missed chunks of the movie, laughing at each other and the weird voices on the computer screen. 

After that, Pidge had her first yawn, which quickly infected Keith. They stared at each other, horrified about what they’d just done. “COFFEE!!!” They both shouted, running down to the kitchenette. 

At the next film, neither of them could hide the fact their eyes were drooping. “We can do this Keith,” Pidge muttered, “We are strong...and powerful….”

“Fuck yeah,” Keith said, drooping his head onto Pidge’s shoulder. She was small and kinda bony but at his level of exhaustion it might as well have been a full fluffy pillow. 

They woke up at 1:00 pm the next day to the netflix screen, with a little sign saying ‘Are you still watching?’ They were curled around each other, greasy popcorn kernels staining the bed and candy and crumbs spread everywhere, even down to the carpets. 

“We are weak,” Pidge said, rubbing her eyes and still curled into Keith’s chest. “How did we let this happen?”

“We’re getting older,” Keith said, sleep still mostly claiming him, his eyes closed and head resting in Pidge’s mop of hair, “Our glory days are behind us, we have nothing more to look forward to other than mortgages and beige counter tops.”

Pidge grumped. “Matt’s never going to let me hear the end of this.”

“Neither’s Shiro,” Keith muttered. 

“We could…” she suggested, “Lie to them. Tell them we handled it fine.”

Keith nodded. “Sounds like a good plan.” He snuggled Pidge a little closer, “After a short nap.”

She hummed her agreement, letting herself be used as a teddy bear to gain back a few more minutes of sleep. 

Little did they know, both their older brother figures had come to check on them early that morning, and had photographic evidence of the lies they were planning to tell.


	15. Shay/Hunk Camping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shay can't wait to show Hunk her love of camping, but hes a little more stubborn than first expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Human AU, Anxiety

“What was that?” Hunk said, physically restraining himself from sitting bolt-upright.

Shay yawned, ready to go to sleep 30 minutes ago. “Probably a werewolf that’s going to come eat you.” 

Hunk groaned. “Not funny, Shay!” 

She smiled to herself, not having enough energy to actually laugh. “Was a lil funny.”

Hunk huffed, settling back into his sleeping bag. Something in the distance howled. “Okay, seriously are you not hearing that?!”

“I’m hearing it, I’m hearing it,” Shay said, “It’s probably coyotes and they’re probably very far away. They know better than to mess with the campsites. You know how many hunters there are out here?” 

Normally Shay was one to protest the hunters not use them as an argument, but at the moment she’d ally herself with just about anyone if it would make Hunk sleep.

“Well excuse me!” Hunk said, “But I’m not used to only having a thin piece of nylon as protection from predators!” He grumped, just as tired as she was, but his own thoughts keeping him awake. 

“Hunk, you’re a predator,” Shay reminded him, “Trust me, this place is safe. Just….breath….and use the sound of the crickets….and the birds….and the water...to slowly...carry you off….” Shay took a deep breath, feeling sleep come over her.

Hunk grumbled keeping her awake. “It’s not me I’m worried about,” Hunk said.

Shay sighed and turned. “What is it?”

Hunk sighed. “It’s the chili.”

Shay frowned before she fully understood in her semi-conscious mind. “The dinner you made?”

“Yes!” Hunk said, “We didn’t tie it into a tree or anything. I saw that on a show once.” 

Shay smiled at him. It really wasn’t his fault his parents were city people and he’d never gone camping before. It would be super endearing if she wasn’t fighting to keep her eyes open. “I put the chili in the car, hon.”

He blinked at her in the darkness. “You--”

“Yup.” She said, “And the snacks and anything animals might get into. It’s locked and everything.”

Hunk sighed, earnestly relieved. “Thank you.” He kissed her cheek. “You’re the best.

She smiled. “Do you want to sleep in the car too?”

“No, no,” He said, settling into the sleeping bag, “I’m here for the original camping experience. Dirt ground and everything.”

Shay curled into him. “Thanks, hun.”

 

In the morning, it was Hunk being woken up by Shay. “Hunk. Hunky. C’mon, hun, wake up.”

Hunk groaned. “‘S still dark out…”

“Not for long,” Shay said, pulling at him, “Come on.”

Groggily, Hunk sat up, rubbing his eyes. Shay had unzipped the tent and was sitting at its edge, waiting for him to join her. He sat, leaning on the tents edge, as she gave him some cold chili for breakfast. 

Together, they sat in silence, listening to nature around them, until the sun rose in golds and pinks and blues over the horizon.


	16. Krolia/"Jack" Fangs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Baby Keith has trouble getting to sleep, and his parents try to figure out how to handle their half-alien child.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jack is the name I've given Keith's Dad for now, based on another fic. 
> 
> CW: Biting, babies

The baby was crying. Again. 

Jack groaned. “Your turn,” he muttered.

Krolia groaned, higher and louder. “I took a turn while you were asleep.”

“You’re just saying that to make me go again,” Jack said. Krolia growled at him. “Alright, alright, I’ll let myself be tricked.” Damn alien, intimidating things this early in the morning. 

Slowly, he picked himself up, following the sound of cries like a siren. “Hey, lil Keith,” he said, reaching in to pick his son up. “What’s goin’ on, huh? What’s got you down?” 

Picking Keith up didn’t calm him like it sometimes did. Sometimes Keith just needed to be held. The sound of his cries was grating on Jack’s ears, but he didn’t complain. Not externally, anyway. 

Jack lifted him up, sniffing at his diaper. Clear on that front (thank goodness). “You hungry?” Jack asked, “You had food not that long ago….”

Jack’s eyes finally adjusted enough to see something in Keith’s mouth as he opened it and cried. His hand kept batting wildly at his mouth too. “Keith, you didn’t eat something weird, did you?” Carefully, Jack stuck a finger in his mouth, feeling for the foreign object. 

Keith clamped down on his finger. “JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!”

Krolia jumped awake, springing from the bed to see what was wrong. Jack had successfully not dropped Baby Keith, but it was a close thing, the baby hooked in one arm and his father wimpering at his hurt finger, sucking it in his mouth to prevent the pain. “What is it, what happened?”

“He BIT me!” Jack said, accusatory and examining his finger. “Jesus, I think he drew blood!”

Krolia plucked their son out of his arms, his blanket bundle coming undone. With her night vision eyes, she looked into his mouth, that had resumed wailing in pain. “Oh my! His baby fangs have grown in!”

“FANGS?” Jack asked, still nursing his finger. 

“Of course,” Krolia said, “Don’t humans have baby fangs? To ward off predators.”

“No, can’t say we do,” Jack said, “They grow teeth, but usually that’s a little later.”

Krolia shook her head. “How odd.” Keith still cried in her arms. “I don’t know why he’s crying though.”

“Well, I don’t know about Galra,” Jack said, “But when Human babies have their teeth grow in, it can hurt. Probably more so since he’s younger than when the teeth usually grow.”

Krolia looked at him, distressed. “Why would it hurt them? It’s just a natural part of growing!”

“Sometimes growing hurts,” Jack said, shrugging, “We call them growing pains.” 

Krolia rocked her baby in her arms. “Well, how do we stop it then?”

“‘Can’t,” Jack said, “Like I said, natural part of growing. You wait here, I might have something that’ll help.” 

Jack went over to the bathroom and gathered a clean washcloth, twirling it into a rope. He brought it back to Krolia who, despite not wanting to wake up, was clearly agitated her baby was in pain and she could do nothing about it. “Here,” he held the cloth up to Keith’s mouth. Just like with Jack’s finger, he chomped on it, and then started suckling. 

Jack sighed. “That oughta do it for now. I’ll run into town tomorrow and pick up some teething rings and the like. Dunno if they’ll stand up to Galra fangs, but it’ll be something.”

Krolia nodded as Keith continued chewing on the washcloth. Despite her reluctance to wake up, Krolia now seemed like she didn’t want to put her baby down.

Jack put a hand on her shoulder. “He’ll be alright. Before we know it, he’ll be an angsty teenager we’ll have to fight to get up. And then we’ll remember these moments fondly.”

Krolia smiled reluctantly and put little Keith down back in his crib. With something to bite on, he seemed to be getting sleepy again, eyes drooping. Jack gave Krolia a little squeeze. “He’ll be ok. It’s just going to take some adjustment figuring out a half alien baby.”

Krolia nodded, leaning into his shoulder. “I wish I could take away the pain for him.”

“If he’s half as strong as his mother, he’s strong enough to face this. Our Keith’s a tough little bugger. Don’t you worry.”

Krolia nodded again, and allowed herself to be lead back to bed.


	17. Keith/Hunk Knots

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith's habit of training 24/7 puts a strain on his body, and on Hunk's nerves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry didn't have a chapter yesterday, weirdly tired. But I'm back!!

“Ow.”

“I’m not sorry,” Hunk said, hovering over Keith. Keith mumbled into his pillow as Hunk continued to work on his muscles. 

“Sadist,” Keith muttered. 

“Masochist,” Hunk responded, “Why else would you insist on torturing yourself?”

“‘Snot torture,” Keith muttered, head just to the side so he could get some air, “‘Sfun.”

Hunk grumbled and hit upon a particularly sensitive bunch of nerves, making Keith seize up and flail. “Uh-huh,” he said, “Looks so fun.”

“You exercise too,” Keith complained, “its healthy,”

“Going for a light jog is healthy,” Hunk said, moving down to massage his leg muscles, “Training at the gym for a bit is healthy. Going to exercise every minute of free time that you have is NOT healthy, it’s an obsession.”

“Hmph,” Keith said, trying not to feel how much better his muscles felt under Hunk’s fingers. “Agree to disagree.”

Hunk paused, and Keith could feel the glare from behind his head. He braced for it, but still, the squeeze he gave to Keith’s legs sent him spasming. 

“I’m serious,” Hunk said, massaging the hurt muscles, “This isn’t good for you.” 

“Awww, you worried about me?” Keith mocked, because that’s what he did when things got too emotionally intense.

“Yes.” Hunk replied, with absolutely no sarcasm or blame or anything other than sincerity, that it made Keith’s heart squeeze too. “Why do you insist on training so much?”

Keith sighed, “I dunno,” he said, “It’s just...something to do.”

“Have you considered maybe pursuing other hobbies?” Hunk suggested, “Like, knitting. Or I could teach you how to cook!”

“Last time I cooked I exploded my oven.”

“I could teach you to cook in Lance’s kitchen.”

Keith snorted, turning over until Hunk stopped massaging him. “Thank you,” he said, “I feel much better now.”

“Damn right you do,” Hunk said, collapsing on the bed beside him, “I think some of those knots had knots.”

“Probably,” Keith agreed, taking Hunk’s hand and kissing the back of it. “Sorry I give you such a hard time.”

It was Hunk’s turn to groan. “Well, if you’re not going to take care of yourself….someone has to, right?”

Keith shrugged. “I mean...I’ve always kinda had to care for myself before. I mean, people have tried looking out for me...My Dad, Shiro….but...I dunno. I guess I just felt like I always needed to be prepared. For anything. Had to be strong enough on my own.”

Hunk brushed Keith’s bangs out of his face. “I get it,” Hunk said, “I do, really. And I’m not trying to make you stop. But you’re not alone, not anymore. You have a lot of people who care about you and will help with anything you need. And I’ll be there, right at the front of the line. I’m pretty strong too.”

Hunk flexed his muscles, getting Keith to smile. “All the better for hugging, right?”

“Damn right!” Hunk said, “C’mere!” Keith offered just a bit of resistance as Hunk pulled him into his arms. Keith actually chuckled, though Hunk would say giggled, as Hunk wrapped around him, wiggling until they were both settled comfortably.

“Maybe I’ll take up needlepoint,” Keith said, joking, “At least I’d still get to stab something over and over.”

“That’s the spirit,” Hunk said, lazily. The muscles around Keith relaxed, but were still heavy as Hunk gave himself over to sleep. 

Still a bit sore, but certainly more relaxed, Keith allowed himself to melt alongside him, letting Hunk protect him, just for the night, anyway.


	18. Lance/Allura Hiccups

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pregnant Alteans don't throw up, they hiccup. This causes some problems for Lance and Allura's sleep routine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cw: pregnancy

Hiccup!

While Lance had difficulty getting to sleep, once sleep had been achieved he could sleep through basically anything.

Hiccup!

Thunderstorms, hurricanes, the air conditioner that sounded like it wanted to come alive and eat him.

Hiccup!

The issue was those were all constant sounds.

Hiccup!

Anyone could get used to constant sounds, and eventually tune them

Hiccup! 

Out. The issue was when it came to sudden, sporadic sounds that

Hiccup! 

Were impossible to predict. Like now, for instance. 

Lance sighed, putting an arm around his (lovely, beautiful, gorgeous) wife, both as a comfort and a little bit of an attempt to physically restrain her, as though that could stop the internal spasms. 

The thing was, Alteans apparently didn’t get morning sickness the way humans did, with the nausea and throwing up and yadda yadda yadda. No instead they got incessant bouts of hiccups. Incessant, unceasing, forever lasting hiccups. 

Allura swallowed, taking deep breaths, that were inevitably interrupted by another Hiccup! She sighed, kept up just as much as her husband. “Sorry,” she whispered into the darkness. 

“Not your fault,” Lance muttered back, still holding her. “Just keep breathing.” She nodded, and he put a hand down on the curve of her stomach. “Hey offspring,” he muttered to their shared little baby, “How do you feel about letting your mommy sleep, huh?”

He felt just a little movement, a bounce against his hand like a kick, as if his hand was a soccer ball. Yep, that was his kid alright. He smiled as they breathed in sync, relaxing, until….

Hiccup!

“Sorry,” Allura whined, but he knew she was suffering more than him. 

“‘Salright,” he said, kissing her forehead and getting up, “Here, wait just a moment.” He got up out of bed and headed to their bathroom, grabbing supplies. Cup, check, water, check, spoon, check.

He brought the materials back to his wife. “Here, sit up,” he instructed. She did, and he handed her the glass of water, “keep the spoon to the back of the cup, and take a drink without letting the spoon touch your nose.”

Allura looked at him strangely, but did as asked, tilting her head back so as to not touch the spoon. Once she’d drunk her fill, she paused, breathing in and out. “I don’t feel the hiccups!”

“My abuelita’s cure,” Lance said, taking the cup back to the sink to sit until morning. “It stretches your diaphragm or something. Works every time.”

She smiled, settling back in. “Thank you, Lance.”

“Don’t thank me,” he said, getting in beside her, “Thank Abuelita Sanchez.”

She chuckled, “I’ll be sure to, next time I see her.”

Lance curled around Allura once again, hand drifting down to Offspring. As the first Altean/Human hybrid, they weren’t quite sure what to expect, but Lance was glad he’d been able to manage this little hurdle. 

They breathed in sync, feeling sleep overcome them. Then…

Hiccup!


	19. Keith/Lance Spell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While playing Monsters and Mana, Keith and Lance have different ideas about the campaign than Coran.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Stabbing, Dubious Consent Kissing, Narrator is a Character

The brave warrior Pike scaled up the stone walls of the tower, climbing through the open window of the top room. Inside he found the Princess’s room. There at the edge he saw a form lying peacefully on the bed. Pulling back the gossamer curtains his eyes fell on the beautiful Princess, fast asleep from the spell cast by the evil witch.

“I loot the room.”

…..

What?

“Come on, it’s a PRINCESS’s room, there has to be like, jewelry and stuff, right?” Lance rolled his dice, “18. What valuables we talkin’ here?”

“Can I wake up now?”

No, Keith, you can’t until Lance--I mean, PIKE--breaks the spell placed upon you.

“This is bullshit, why am I the Princess? Shouldn’t that be Allura?”

Allura’s a princess in real life, and you said, and I quote ‘can’t you just make up a character for me?’ So I did.

“Well, can’t I be a Prince, at least?”

Sigh….Fine. The PRINCE lays back on the bed behind the gossamer curtains, fast asleep from the spell cast by the evil witch.

“And does the PRINCE have any jewelry in his room?”

I don’t know, he….you know what, sure, you find a necklace worth 20 gold.

“SWEET! Adding to the inventory.”

“Great, can you wake me up now?” 

“Mmm…..Nah.”

Lance, the whole reason you’re here is to save the Princess! That’s the point of the campaign!

“Prince.”

Whatever!

“And I will! I pick the Prince up. His figure looks small and wimpy.”

“Lance you--”

“Upupupup. You’re asleep. Simmer down, Princey.” 

Ugh. Fine. You pick the prince up but…..but the door inside is still locked, with the rest of your party trapped on the other side. It will take two sets of hands to unlock the door!

“What? What kind of terrible lock is that?”

The evil witch has four hands. 

“Ugh. HEY BLOCK!” 

“YEAH PIKE?”

“You guys are sitting right next to each other you don’t actually have to yell.”

“Shush, Pidge, you’re breaking my character. HOW DO I DISPELL THE SLEEP THING?”

“UHHH...LOOKS LIKE YOU IT CAN ONLY BE BROKEN BY A KISS.”

“WHAT?”

“Coran, you can’t be serious. Someone has to kiss me?”

Those are the rules of the spell, I didn’t make it up. 

“I don’t want to kiss him!”

Tough. You can’t climb back out with Keith in tow, and you can’t open the door without him.

“UGH! Fine.”

…….

You know you didn’t have to kiss him in real life.

“WHAT?!”

“Now he tells us.”

Well, it’s perfectly fine. Extra points for roleplaying. Prince Yorak, you’re now awake, in the arms of Pike the Thief.

“Cool. I take the knife from my belt and I stab Pike.”

“I JUST SAVED YOUR LIFE!! WE HAD A BONDING MOMENT!”

“Well I don’t know that! To Prince Yorak, you’re a total stranger who just kissed me without my consent!

Pidge sighed. “This is going to be a loooong campaign.”


	20. Zarkon/Honerva Medicine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Honerva has been feeling the effects from her experiments, and Zarkon attempts to help her feel better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Sickness, Medicine. Threats of stamping people out, but that's just Zarkon's way.

“Please, Honerva,” Zarkon said, sitting on the edge of the bed, “Please eat some. I’ve had it brought all the way from Altea.”

Honerva murmured sleepily, turning away from the leaf broth Zarkon was pushing on her. “No…” she muttered.

“Love, please,” he said, trying to adjust her one handed, “This will make you feel better.” 

“No,” she said, swatting at the bowl. Luckily he was too strong and she too weak to make it spill more than a couple of drops. “It makes me tired.”

“I know, love,” Zarkon said, brushing her hair out of her eyes, “It’s medicine, it will make you feel better.”

She shook her head more fervently, loose gray hair flowing around her, then lying limp against her sheets, “Doesn’t….nothing does….I can...I can handle the pain.”

Zarkon put down the bowl and stroked her hair. “You shouldn’t have to. I...I want to take your pain away, don’t you see? Don’t you see how it hurts me to see you like this and...and not to be able to do anything?”

She lifted her shaky hand, grabbing his and giving a light squeeze. Her skin was as dry and thin as parchment. “I know you don’t like feeling weak. But I am still your wife. I am still strong. I can handle myself.”

Zarkon sighed. “I know you’re strong.” He kissed her hand. “Rest, so that you may recover faster.”

“Alright,” She said, “If you’ll rest with me.”

Zakon hummed, “If I do, you have to promise to eat just a little of the medicine.” She groaned, “Just a spoonful or two of the broth, and one leaf.”

She sighed and sat up. “Hand it over.”

She was still too weak to hold the bowl herself, and so he cradled it in his hands, letting her use the spoon, the thick green liquid spilling out and dripping down her lips. “Did you make this yourself?” she asked after the first spoonful.

He shrugged slightly, “I didn’t want the servants knowing the….extent of you’re condition. There are still rumors…”

“What, rumors that I have enchanted you?” She said, letting the spoon fall back in the bowl, “That I will bring about your undoing?”

“Rumors that I will have squashed, love,” he said, picking the spoon back up and handing it to her. “Besides, I can handle a little broth. You just soak the leaves in water and heat it, it’s not that hard.”

“Did you cut the leaves before straining them?” She asked.

He hesitated. “Cut them where?”

She chortled, lifting one of the leaves out of the broth with her spoon. “You cut the stem here to release the juices into the water. Otherwise it’s not saturated enough.”

It was a rare sight to see the Emperor of the Galra look unsure of himself, a sight that she alone felt privileged to see. “I can make another bowl…”

“No, no,” she said, waving him off. She slurped the wet leaf into her mouth chewing slowly before swallowing it whole. “There. A spoonful and a leaf. I’m done.”

“You’re Altean plants are complicated,” He said, taking the dish away.

“Not my fault Galra are carnivores,” She said, leaning her head back as her eyelids drooped. “Oh, I forgot how fast that works…”

Zarkon helped adjust her so she rested comfortably. “Rest soundly, love,” he said, kissing her forehead, “In the morning you’ll feel better.”

The words were comforting, but they both knew it was a lie.


	21. Lance/Matt Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Engaged in battle for their honor, two memelords enter, but only one can be victorious. 
> 
> Who will win this clash of the nerds?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cw: lotsa tickles

“You fool,” Lance said, squinting at his opponent, “I have been trained by the greatest warriors, the grand masters of the universe. Since the day I was born I have prepared for this very moment.”

“Ha!” Matt replied, “Grand masters, you say? Then you have been lied to, for there is only one true grand master of the universe, and I. Changed. Her. Diapers!”

With a shriek of fury, Lance struck with his fingers, aiming for Matt’s exposed side. Matt blocked him, pushing his hand away, but that was fine. It was only a distraction, a feint to get Matt to lift his arms so that he could use his other hand to go for the armpits. A successful hit! He made Matt jerk back as he tickled him, before Matt slapped a hand over his wrist, pulling him back. 

“You are a fool,” Lance said, using his best ninja-movie-dub voice, “I have met this grand master of yours. She is no match for my own niece and nephew, the twin tickling terrors!!!”

Lance twisted his wrists to break Matt’s hold, going for the attack again. This time Matt didn’t block him, though, but rather went on the attack himself! 

Lance spasmed back as Matt tickled under his armpits, “Noooo,” he said, trying to choke back laughter, “Aaaaah, cease! Desist!” 

“Never!” Matt cried, doubling his attack. Lance batted him away with his arms but Matt dodged him, re-aiming for Lance’s stomach. 

“Vengeance is mine!” Lance said instead using his long legs to kick at him, pushing him away….

….and right off the bed. 

Matt landed in a heap with an “Oof!” and then stopped moving. 

“Oh my god,” Lance said, scrambling to the edge of the bed, “Oh my god. Babe? Are you okay?” Matt didn’t move. 

Lance jumped out of bed, trying to roll Matt over to see if he had any injuries. “Are you alright? Talk to me babe.”

As soon as he was rolled over, he launched himself up, pinning Lance to the ground. “Mwahahaha!”

“Cheater!” Lance cried out, under the barrage of tickling. 

“Not cheating, brainpower!” Matt said, “I got the smarts, babe.”

“Oh yeah? You know what I got?” 

“What?”

“Flexibility.” 

Lance turned himself in Matt’s arms, sending them both spiralling until Lance had Matt pinned beneath him, arms wrapped behind his back.

“Alright, I know I should be mad,” Matt said, chin pressed into the floor, “But that was hot as all hell.”

“Do you surrender?” Lance demanded.

“Never!” Matt fought back, squirming, despite the fact he was no closer to getting himself free.

“Alright,” Lance said, “You asked for it.” He leaned down, placing a raspberry on Matt’s neck. He squealed in protest. 

“Aaack! No, stop, stop!” 

“Surrender!” Lance ordered. 

“Nooooo!”

Lance gave him a raspberry again, and he squealed more. “Surrender, Holt!”

“Aaaaaaaugh,” After squirming one last time, he went limp. “Fine, fine. I surrender.”

Lance let up, allowing Matt to roll on his back before Lance collapsed again on his stomach, making him go “Oomf!”

Lance nuzzled into his chest, getting him to forgive him. Matt sighed. “Can we move this cuddle sesh up to the bed? The floor is not doing good things for my back.”

Lance thought about it, considered how comfortable he was lying on Matt, and said… “Nope.” snuggling into him more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm opening up to suggestions! If there's a pairing you want to see, or see more of, let me know either here or on my tumblr (dork-empress). Suggestions can be as vague or specific as you want but I do have the right to refuse. As a general rule, I don't do Shiro/Paladins (except Shallura) (not judgement just personal preference) and I'd like to keep the fic rated G.


	22. Lance/Lotor Bedhead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lotor always presents himself as perfect and it's driving Lance up the fucking wall.

Lotor always woke up before Lance, and it was infuriating.

Every morning when Lance woke up, Lotor was already fully dressed and well manicured, sometimes even with breakfast being made or already made for Lance. The longer it took Lance to wake, the nicer the breakfast.

Oh no, before you start thinking ‘oh how sweet, what a good boyfriend Lotor is’ NO. Because Lance was convinced this wasn’t a matter of sweetness or caring, but vanity. You see, Lance has never seen Lotor when he was anything less than perfect, and it was driving Lance nuts. 

Alright, he knew Lotor was less than perfect. He had a temper and more parental issues than a disney character and sometimes he had to be reminded that caring for people beyond the limited range of his actual beloved ones was important. But he always LOOKED perfect, and usually acted dignified. 

Lance was determined to see him when he was all sleepy and messy and such before he could make himself all pretty. Just to prove to himself that the man did have flaws. 

He set an alarm within his headphones that he used to go to sleep. Theoretically, it should wake him without waking Lotor. 

Oh Quiznack he hated waking up early. His alarm went off and he struggled to pull his own eyelids open. It took several long seconds for him to remember his mission. 

He lolled his head to the side, focusing in on the man sleeping beside him. Sleeping! Lotor’s eyes were closed, his breathing slow and steady. Lance had done it, he only had to wake up at the absolute buttcrack of dawn.

Slowly, he stroked a hand down Lotor’s face. He really was a beautiful man. No drool or anything, which was a bit disappointing, but Lance would survive. 

As his hand made its way down his cheekbone, Lotor’s eyes fluttered open, focusing in on Lance’s face. “Lance,” he said, coming to himself, “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine,” he said, “Just woke up early.”

Lotpr still looked concerned, but didn’t mention it. Instead he just sat up, “Well, since you’re up, what do you want for breakfast?”

Lance didn’t answer, just stared at his boyfriend. “You’re shitting me.”

Lotor frowned. “What?”

“Your hair!” Lance said, sitting up and looking at the silver strands, “How….how is it still so perfect? You were just asleep, it should...it should have knots or tangles or SOME kind of bedhead.”

Lotor shrugged, “I never get bedhead.”

Lance squinted at him, looking between his eyes to see if he was serious. Nope, useless, Lotor was an expert liar. “How?” he asked.

“I just take good care of my hair, is all,” Lotor said, flipping his luxurious locks over his shoulder, “It just naturally untangle itself, I guess.”

Lance fell back on the bed, overtired and defeated. Lotor leaned over him, “Hey, there’s no need to feel bad,” he said, kissing his cheek, warm breath washing over him, “I can always share my hair care products with you.”

Lance froze, a thought occurring to him. He turned over to face Lotor, coming nose-to-nose with him. “Say that again.”

“I said I can always-”

“Oh quiznack,” Lance said, turning away from him to cover his mouth and nose. “Holy shit, babe, that is some of the worst morning breath I’ve ever smelled. And I roomed with Hunk after garlic cheese puff night.”

Self-consciously, Lotor covered his own mouth, breathing into it and smelling the air. “Well I haven’t brushed my teeth yet…”

“Yeah, no kidding,” Lance said grinning like an idiot as he sat up to allow Lotor to go to the bathroom. Lotor practically leaped off the bed, going for the sink to begin his hygiene routine. 

Chuckling, Lance got up to follow him, wrapping his arms around Lotor’s waist as he furiously scrubbed at his teeth. “My stinky baby,” Lance said, smiling and kissing him between his shoulder blades. Finally, he had found Lotor’s weakness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still accepting suggestions/prompts/etc.


	23. Keith/Hunk/Lance Nutella

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith wakes up in bed alone, and it becomes clear very quickly his boyfriends are up to something

Keith woke up to an empty bed. Not incredibly surprising, but definitely disappointing. He’d had a long day yesterday and was really looking forward to just staying in bed and snuggling up with his boyfriends. But, by the sound of it, they were already in the kitchen making breakfast. 

Fighting his protesting muscles, he sat up, and pushed himself out of bed, ready to go join modern society. 

He only got a quick glimpse of the kitchen beyond his bedroom when suddenly Lance looked at him, horrified, shoved him back in the bedroom. “You’re not supposed to be up yet!”

“Lance!” Hunk’s voice came, “You can’t just shove the door in his face! This is the opposite of what we’re trying to do here!”

“But he’s not supposed to be up yet!” Lance protested, and then there was some quiet arguing Keith couldn’t hear behind the door. When silence fell again, Lance re-opened the door, this time closing himself in with Keith. “You’re supposed to still be asleep.

“So you’ve mentioned,” Keith said, “I wasn’t aware I was on a schedule.”

“C’mon, babe,” Lance said, leading Keith back to bed, “You worked way into overtime yesterday, You got home late, has it even been 8 hours? You need your rest.” Lance practically shoved Keith back into bed. 

Keith WAS awfully tired, but his mind was awake with suspicion. “What’re you doing?”

“Making sure my lovely boyfriend is all rested up,” Lance said, laying beside him and rubbing his brow. It was oddly soothing. “Now shhh. Catch some of those last minute z’s.”

Keith groaned, but did close his eyes. Before he knew it, Lance was poking him again. “Babe. Baaaabe. Time to get up now.”

Groaning more, Keith opened his eyes. His short nap made him more tired than before, but Lance seemed intent on waking him up. What was curious to him was when he looked over to the door and saw Hunk standing there, tray of food in hand. “What’s going on?”

“Breakfast in bed!” Hunk said, bringing the tray over, “I got all your favorites, strawberry pancakes with nutella, strawberry protein shake, crispy slightly burnt bacon like your dad made, and a nice glass of icey cold milk with your lactose medication.”

Keith frowned in confusion as Hunk lay the tray on his lap. All the food looked delicious as only Hunk could make, but despite his mouth watering, he was still suspicious. “It’s not my birthday,” he told them, in case they somehow forgot. 

“We know,” Lance said, sitting beside him. 

“And its not an anniversary that I know of…” he continued.

“Nope,” Hunk said, settling on his other side.

“Then what--”

“It is international Appreciate Your Keith day,” Lance said, leaning into him, “and we are respecting the tradition.”

Keith didn’t even know how to question that, so he just stared the pair of them down until they explained themselves. Hunk gave in first. “We accidentally-” Lance cleared his throat, and Hunk sighed, “I mean I accidentally overheard--” Lance cleared his throat harder and more disapprovingly. “I mean, I was eavesdropping. I’m sorry, it’s a fatal flaw, I’m learning.” 

“Hunk heard you talking to Shiro on the phone,” Lance said, sympathetically tucking Keith’s long hair behind his ear, “and saying sometimes you don’t feel like you’re in the loop with us.”

Keith’s face fell. “Guys...it’s fine, I was just...it wasn’t anything, you don’t have to do all this.”

“Yeah, we do,” Hunk said, “Look, Lance and I’ve known each other a long time, and we can’t just like, erase all that history.”

“But we can make an effort to show you how loved you are,” Lance said, “We’re all equal in this relationship. And if you ever feel like you’re not, you should let us know!”

“We love you,” Hunk said, kissing Keith’s cheek, “So much.” Lance kissed his other cheek for good measure.

Keith couldn’t help his smile and blush, bowing his head so his hair fell in his face. Gingerly, he picked up his fork and started cutting into the pancakes. There was melted nutella inside the pancakes too, pouring out in a little chocolate puddle. He took a bite, “Sweet,” he commented, not knowing if he was talking about the pancakes or his dumb silly boys.


	24. Colleen/Sam Kids

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Colleen is glad to have her husband back, but she can't help thinking about what's missing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Angst, hurt/comfort

“Colleen,” Sam protested. 

“Don’t--” she cut him off and pushed past into the main bedroom. 

Sam sighed and followed her in as she tucked herself into bed. He sat on his side of the bed, looking down at her. “When we married we promised we’d never go to bed angry.” 

She shuffled under the blankets. “I’ve been going to bed angry for 2 years.” She said, “Angry and hurt and sad...at you, at the universe, at our…” She clenched her eyes shut and curled up on herself. 

He reached out, put a hand behind her back, just where she could feel it in the dip of the bed. “I came back the moment I could.”

“I know,” she said, sobbing, “I...I’m glad, truly. I missed you so much. But the kids…”

“I didn’t want to leave them there anymore than you would,” Sam said, “But they’ve grown now, in ways we cannot understand. They’re doing what we trained them to do, helping where they are most needed.”

She shook her head, more in disbelief than protest. “They really are your kids…”

“Colleen-”

“I lost you and my firstborn child on the same day,” Colleen said, sniffling, “And I found out about it from the damn news.” She cried further, and he had to put a hand on her to try and comfort her. “Days later I lost Katie too. It wasn’t until the news again that I saw her, under a different name, listed as missing from the Garrison.”

“I can’t even imagine,” Sam said, squeezing her shoulder. 

Colleen turned over, blinking up at him. “And I can’t imagine what you’ve gone through. What all of you’ve gone through.” Tears appeared in her eyes, “My whole family suffering lightyears away from me and I couldn’t--I can’t--”

He gathered her in his arms. “I know. I know, I feel that too. I felt...I was a commander, and all I wanted was to find and save Matt and Shiro, and then get home and stay here with you and Katie.” He sighed, “But the universe is not so suited to those kinds of selfish wants.”

Colleen sobbed, gripping onto his shirt. “I just want my family back. I want to protect my children, I want--I want-”

“I know,” Sam said, rubbing circles into her back, “I know, I want that too. They’ll come back.”

“How?” she asked, “How can you know?”

Sam smiled. “Have you met them? Our kids are the brightest and the best the universe has to offer.”

Colleen smiled, “True enough,” she agreed.

“You should have seen them!” He said, holding her still, “Katie….Katie was fearless. Absolutely fearless, fighting in a giant lion just as easily as she took on any homework assignment. She made he science into an art form. And Matt? He’s learned more alien languages than I could have imagined, and codes and everything else to help his friends.”

Colleen smiled, “I can imagine it. That sounds just like them.” She looked up, “Their ingenuity they learned from you.”

Sam shrugged. “Their kindness, though, their belief in following the truth and righteousness...that they learned from you.” He said, stroking her cheek, “And that’s why I couldn’t force them to come back with me. They had something to finish and they knew they were doing the right thing. And I know better than to get in the way of any of my family when they know they’re doing the right thing.”

“So you’re saying this is my fault?” She said, frowning, but he could hear the note of humor in her voice.

He bit his tongue shaking his own head in disbelief. “That is not what I meant and you know that very well.”

She chuckled, tears drying on her face. “But it’s probably true.” She reached out and held him close this time, “I’m so glad you’re back.”

“Me too, love,” He said, resting his head on hers, “Me too."


	25. Thace/Ulaz Counting Weblums

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ulaz gets an urgent call from the Blade of Marmora. Urgent to Thace, anyway

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW Egregious fanonization of characters

Incoming call, private.’ was the message on his screen. Ulaz looked around at the other doctors and sentries. None were paying particular attention to him at the moment. With a purposeful stride, he walked out of the room and made his way over to the one spot in the ship not covered with cameras, a supply closet that was reasonably soundproof, and made sense for Ulaz to be there. 

Ulaz straightened, closing himself inside and making sure no one would overhear him, and then faced his holopad, ready for whatever message the Blade of Marmora had to give him.

When he opened it, however, he was faced with a close-up image, not of Kolivan, but Thace, who was smiling and clearly in a Galra bunk of some kind. “Heyyyyy you picked up!” Thace said with a wink.

Ulaz sighed. “Thace. What are you doing?”

“Lying in bed, babe,” he said, “What are YOU doing?”

“I’m deep undercover,” Ulaz said with a sharp whisper, “As are you. Calling is a risk.”

“Calm down, doc,” Thace said, “I’ve got this filtered through like, 50 different encryptions, the empire will think it’s just normal static.”

Ulaz sighed. “Well, what did you want?”

“Huh?”

“I assume, after sending a message ‘through like, 50 encryptions’ you had some reason for pulling me away from my work? Maybe something having to relate to your mission perhaps?”

“Oh yeah,” He said, “I can’t sleep.”

Ulaz closed his eyes and counted for several seconds, “You can’t…”

“Hey, don’t say it like that,” Thace said, adjusting his position on the bed, “It’s very urgent. What if I’m in a meeting with Zarkon and like, downloading information secretly and suddenly, whoops, fell asleep on the job. Then I get dragged to the medical ward here and they see my isolinear chip and there goes my cover and now I’m dead. Do you want that on your hands, Ulaz? Hm?”

Ulaz sighed again, this time more just amused than anything. “Have you tried counting weblums?”

“Ha ha,” Thace said, “I have tried every trick in the book, even went to the medical ward here for some medication. No effect. Though, I’m pretty sure the doctors here are useless.”

“Are you insulting my profession?” Ulaz asked, leaning against the door of the supply closet. 

“Not at all, in fact I’m complimenting you,” Thace said, “You know you’re the only doctor I trust.”

“Then how come you never listen to me?” Ulaz said faux irritated.

“I listen!” Thace said, faux offended in response, “I just sometimes ignore you.” Ulaz groaned, earning a short burst of laughter from Thace. His humor drained away, looking at Ulaz. “How long do you think you’re going to be?” 

Ulaz sighed, “Not long, I think. There’s a prisoner here, got his arm torn off in the arena,”

“Quiznack,”

“Yeah. They want me to fit him for a new arm. I figure it’s a decent way to send out a code. He’s from Krolia’s planet.”

“Huh...yeah, could be useful.” Thace adjusted. “Then back to the outpost?”

“Mmhmm,” Ulaz said, “What about you?”

“I don’t know. Prorok doesn’t suspect anything, so, probably will hold out here as long as I can. Wish I felt like I was doing something.”

“You are,” Ulaz said, “Somehow you’re our best spy. Just being there helps the Blade.”

Thace hummed, unimpressed. “Wish I was going back to the outpost with you. Never have sleeping problems when I’m with you.”

Ulaz smiled, “Me neither.” He looked behind him, “I should probably hang up, they’ll get suspicious if I’m away too long. Will you be able to sleep?”

“Yeah, yeah,” He said, “Hearing your voice helped.”

Ulaz smiled again. “I’ll see you at the outpost.”

“See you at the outpost,” Thace said sleepily. He put his fingers to the screen. Ulaz mirrored him, letting Thace hang up, before he went back to his duty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and then they DID meet at the outpost because everyone lived happily ever after


	26. Lance/Plaxum Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance is convinced he saw a mermaid, even if nobody else believes him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gotta get these rarepairs outta my system

“Lance, come on,” Hunk said, “It’s getting dark.”

“She’s coming back,” Lance said bitterly, sitting on the dock, “I know she is,”

“Lance….” Hunk held his head in his hands, “Look, I know...I know what you think you saw but-but maybe it was just a dream or something.”

“Doubt me all you want, Hunk,” Lance said, looking through the binoculars at the ocean’s surface, “I know what I saw, and she’s coming back.”

Hunk sighed. “I’m going to be in the house. Please come in at some point, I don’t want you catching cold.”

Lance nodded absentmindedly. When their parents took them on a joint vacation out to a beach house, Lance had been excited to spend all his time with Hunk. But that was before he got stuck in an undertow the other day and dragged out to sea. Lance was a good swimmer, but the ocean’s waves were rough and he was having trouble, until he got help from a mysterious stranger. A stranger with beautiful big blue eyes and a long, long fish tail.

He was determined to see her again, believing she’d return. Well, hoping. Wishing. He wanted to see her so badly, to thank her.

As Hunk warned, the sun set over the distant horizon, leaving the ocean an inky black. Lance’s binoculars became useless. He put them to his side, using his own eyes to look between the waves for any sign of light. 

One by one, the lights of the beach houses went dark, leaving Lance with little more than the moon and stars to see. He should probably head back in, he knew. Even if she did show up, ten feet away with a big sign over her head that read ‘hi’ he wouldn’t be able to see it. 

He slumped on the wooden dock. Who’d’ve thought sitting and doing nothing but stare at the ocean all day would leave someone so tired? Maybe if he just closed his eyes for a second….recharged for the walk home…

Next thing he knew, he was waking up, blinking his eyes open, and staring up at the stars. And the stars….the stars were blinking back at him. 

His eyes focused in the dim light and he saw the silhouette of a young woman, but a very strange young woman, with two long flaps on her head like hair and big wide bug eyes that were nearly black. 

He jolted, realizing who it was. She slid back, hopping off the deck, but he reached out to her, “Wait!” he called, trying to grab her wrist but it slipped out of his hand. 

The call apparently got to her, as he watched her silhouette sit in the water, torso above the surface. She looked up at him, waiting. “Who are you?” He asked. She didn’t respond. “Do you speak English?” Still, nothing. “No Español either, huh?”

She tilted her head, using the dock to lift herself up and examine him. Lance put a hand to his chest. “I’m Lance.”

The girl mimicked him, putting a hand on her own chest, “Imlance,”

Lance let out a giggle. He must have been in a disney movie or something. Gingerly, he took her hand, putting it back on his own chest, “Lance,” he corrected her.

“Lance…” She repeated, thinking. She took his own hand and put it to her chest in turn. “Plaxum.”

“Plaxum,” Lance repeated, “that’s beautiful.”

Plaxum said something to him in a series of clicks and squeals. Or maybe she was just making noise, it was hard to tell. “I’m sorry, I can’t understand you,” Lance said. “I….I wanted to say ‘thank you.’ For yesterday.”

She tilted her head again, probably still not understanding. He didn’t know how to mimic the word ‘thanks.’ “Thank you,” he repeated, putting in all his earnestness and honesty that he had to give. 

“Thank you,” She repeated, mindlessly. He smiled. Close enough.

There were more clicks and squeals in the ocean, making her turn her head. “Will I see you again?” Lance asked. She looked confused. “Here.” he patted the dock, “Tomorrow, when it’s night.” He pointed up at the sky.

He wasn’t sure if she understood or not, but she nodded. Then, she dived back into the water and he saw a flick of her long blue tail as it disappeared into the darkness.


	27. Shiro/Matt/Allura Asteroid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro drives Matt and Allura home as they sleep

Shiro awkwardly reached over the controls of the pod to hit the switch he needed. This was difficult with one arm. And no copilot. 

Technically he had a copilot. 2, in fact. But his original copilot (Matt) was curled up in the copilot’s seat, sound asleep. His secondary copilot (Allura) was curled up in Matt’s lap, also, in fact, asleep. 

Shiro was grateful there were no potholes in space. But there were other issues. The asteroid field up ahead, for instance. 

Shiro took a breath and looked over, considering waking either his boyfriend or his girlfriend up. Neither would blame him. But considering how snuggled up they were, he knew waking one would wake the other. 

They were just too cute. It was like a pair of cats that would curl up on your legs, creating an unwritten rule not to wake them short of the building being on fire, and even then you’d have to give them treats in apology. And more than that, these were really sweet cats that had already done a lot for him and he missed them and plus they just looked SO comfy. 

Well, he wasn’t the best pilot the Garrison had to offer for nothing (until Keith joined, but he TRAINED Keith, that doesn’t count). He cracked his neck and steered the pod into the field. 

It wasn’t the densest asteroid field he’d ever flown in, thankfully. But usually he was flying Black, who followed his thoughts more than his controls. And usually he had a second arm. And usually, he wasn’t as concerned with making it through smoothly as he was quickly. 

He coached himself, as he once tutored cadets. Don’t grip too tight, don’t tense up. Like you’re rolling an egg, keep it steady. Drift if you need to. Don’t take unnecessary risks. 

He grinded his teeth at the pace. He was not the speed demon that Keith and Lance were, but he was still a natural born pilot, and his instincts were telling him to go faster, he could go faster. It wasn’t all just adrenaline, either, more time in the asteroid field meant more of a chance of something going wrong. 

Still, he kept the pod steady, heading for the most open spaces between asteroids. Just for something to do, he darted his eyes around his field of vision, going back and forth with the window and the monitors. Almost at the last second, he saw it, the behemoth of asteroids, the mother of them, that could probably be better defined as a dwarf planet. And it was coming right for him. 

The best thing to do would be put the pod in a nose dive one way or the other, but that would certainly jerk the pod around and CERTAINLY wake up his sleeping passengers. 

Gently, he angled the pod downward. He clenched his teeth, watching the asteroid move in, slowly rolling through space. He looked out the corner of his eyes as he tipped further and further down. 

Matt jerked slightly, eye twitching, and Shiro eased on the control. Soon, his head lolled to the side again, Allura re-adjusting her hold on him. 

The asteroid knocked into a second. The second was smaller and broke open, the shrapnel coming at the pod. Shiro adjusted, turning out of two asteroids now coming at him, mind quickly calculating the best route to not hit either of them. 

The smaller asteroid zoomed past them. The larger still loomed over him, and he continually angled lower, lower lower….

Finally, he reached the bottom, the asteroid gliding over head. There were a good 10 seconds where any change in path for either of them might have meant a collision, and Shiro watched, holding his breath. 

Finally, they were in the clear, outside the belt. Shiro sighed in relief, leaning back…

...and accidentally bumping the controls with his hand. 

“Shiro?” Matt asked, sitting up. 

“Whas going on?” Allura said, clutching Matt as she tried not to fall off his lap.

Shiro let out a groan as he lay his head on the steering controls. Well. He tried.


	28. Acxa/Ezor(&Zethrid) Crumbs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Acxa and Ezor have to adjust certain habits when they start sharing a bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Arguments, yelling, food in the bed.

“EZOOOOR!” Acxa shouted through the ship.

Ezor sighed and made her way back to the sleep quarters. “What?” She snapped. 

Acxa held out her hand to her. “What is this?”

“Uh, your hand,” Ezor answered, sarcastic, “Are you having trouble identifying it? Are you having a stroke?”

“ON my hand, Ezor,” Acxa said, “There are crumbs! Crumbs I got from the bed!”

Ezor rolled her eyes, “Well if you knew what it was, why did you ask me?”

Acxa frowned, “I thought I told you, no more eating in bed.”

“You did,” and then she muttered under her breath, “fascist…”

Acxa did not miss the muttered words, “When you eat in bed it gets CRUMBS everywhere. And then I lay down to take a nap and I can’t because the bed is littered with crumbs!”

“I get the concept!” Ezor said, “Which is why, despite thinking it’s a STUPID rule, I haven’t done it!” 

“Well what are these, then?” Acxa demanded, pushing her hand under Ezor’s nose.

“Those are your stinky fingers!” Ezor said, pushing the hand out of the way, “Which are precisely why I don’t eat in bed anymore!”

“How did the crumbs get there, Ezor?” Acxa said, “Tell me that!”

“I don’t know!” Ezor threw her hands into the air, “Maybe YOU planted them so you’d get the chance to YELL AT ME MORE! Since you apparently ENJOY it so much!”

Just to show her protest, Ezor pushed past Acxa, knocking her shoulder as she herself got into bed. Damn. There were crumbs in here. And it did feel annoying. Exor powered through. 

Acxa sighed, and Ezor turned, stubbornly away. She felt Acxa sit on the other side of the bed. “I’m sorry for yelling,” she said, softer and more kindly. Ezor didn’t respond and so Acxa continued, “It’s just that, if we’re going to share space like this, I want to know that...that you respect my space. That you’re mindful of including me in it.”

“I DO include you,” Ezor said, still bitter, but the poison had left her words, “I’ve made a lot of changes to accomodate you, but I’m still me. I don’t like being treated like a child.”

“I’m sorry for what I did to make you feel that way,” Acxa said, taking a hand and stroking along Ezor’s head tendril. Ezor had found it an odd custom for species to comb through the hair on their head, but Acxa found it comforting, and eventually Ezor had too. “It wasn’t my intention, but I still did it. So, I’m sorry. I don’t want you to change who you are. I love you.”

Ezor turned around to face her. “It’s just....I get you’re all orderly and organized and stuff. I love that about you too. But I don’t like following rules in my own bed. Makes me feel like a visitor in my own bed.”

“You’re not a visitor,” Acxa said, kindly. She took a deep sigh, “As a request, can you please not eat in the bed? Only because it makes it hard for me to sleep, and we both know how grumpy I get without sleep.”

“Of course,” Ezor said, “But I’m telling you, I didn’t eat in the bed.”

“Ezor, it’s okay, I won’t get mad,” Acxa said, “I promise, no more yelling.”

“That’s very sweet,” Ezor responded, “But I didn’t do it.” She plucked one of the crumbs off the sheet. “Is this Jadofa bread crumbs?” 

Acxa got her own crumb, “Seems like it. Why?”

Ezor barked out a laugh, “Ha! Told you it wasn’t me. I’m allergic to Jadofa bread.” She froze. “I’m allergic too…” She jumped out of the bed, jubilation gone, and desperately tried brushing the crumbs off. Acxa got up and tried to help as best she could. 

The door opened, and Zethrid walked in. “What’s all the hubbub?” She asked through a mouthful of food. In her hands rested a half-eaten loaf of Jadofa bread.

“ZETHRID!!!!” Both Acxa and Ezor yelled.

Zethrid shrugged, “Didn’t expect me to eat in my bed, did you? I’d get it all filled with crumbs.”


	29. Matt/Allura Meditation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allura tries to introduce Matt to meditation. It goes about as well as can be expected

“It’s supposed to help you relax, look in on yourself, clear yourself of thoughts.”

“Seems like a way to trick me into sitting still,” Matt grumped.

Allura smirked, eyes still closed, “That too,” She said. 

They sat across from each other, cross legged, in between them, an Altean singing bowl that created a low ringing noise all by itself, echoing for a number of seconds until it rang again. 

“You look…..etheral….” Matt said, staring at the image of Allura before him, cloud of hair sitting perfectly as her muscles sat perfectly still, but not tense.

She opened a single eye, all she needed to glare at him, “You’re not supposed to be looking at me.”

“But you’re right there!” Matt said, teasingly.

Allura took a deep, calming breath, “Close your eyes, and clear your mind.”

“My mind hasn’t been clear in….” Matt screwed up his face, “Ever, really.”

“I know,” her calm voice laced with just a touch of irritation, “That’s why we’re doing this. Now, take a deep breath.”

Matt’s breath came out more as a huff than anything calming. “In through your nose, inhaling for as long as is comfortable,” Allura directed, “And out through the mouth, releasing any and all tension in your muscles.”

Matt was trying, he really was. He followed Allura’s directions exactly, but sooner or later, he found his mind wandering off. “Allura?” he whispered.

“What?” she whispered back.

“I’ve got an itch.”

She smiled just slightly, “You may scratch your itch.” 

There was the sound of rustling fabric as Matt quickly scratched and then sat back, trying to relax. 

“Imagine your thoughts are like clouds passing over you,” Allura narrated, “Don’t try to stop them, just note them, and let them pass, but don’t get caught up in them either.”

Matt tried to visualize this, his face getting screwed up as he tried to imagine the cloud-thoughts. Wait, but wasn’t thinking of the clouds a thought? Should he let that pass as well? And now he was getting caught up in the thoughts about cloud thoughts and--

“Breath,” Allura said, “It’s ok, you don’t need to stress. This is meant to be relaxing.”

“Most stressful relaxing I’ve done,” Matt said, irritated more at himself than Allura. 

Allura chuckled. “Focus on the ringing of the bowl,” She said, “Let it be a lightning rod for your thoughts, clearing the excess stressors away.”

He took another deep breath as directed, focusing on the sounds of the bowl. It echoed constantly, consistently, the echoes fading away like ripples in a still lake before starting again. 

He wasn’t sure if he was allowed to picture the lake, but he did anyway, smooth ripples flowing in consistent circles, expanding ever outwards. 

He could practically feel the lake, cool against his skin, guiding him slowly, gently outwards. 

Allura peaked one eye open when a new sound joined the gentle ringing. She smiled, looking at her boyfriend, with his head lolled forward, gentle snores coming from his mouth. 

She suppressed a giggle, and carefully stopped the ringing bowl. Matt rested, motionless. 

Gently, she plucked him off the floor and carried him over to the couch to let him nap. “Well, at least you’re relaxed,” She told his sleeping form.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always fall asleep when I try to meditate. Unless I'm trying to sleep......


	30. Lance/Allura Sunscreen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance wants to pull a prank on Allura, that definitely doesn't backfire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW Pranks, Sun tans

Lance waved his hand in front of Allura’s face. She was wearing sunglasses so it was a little hard to tell if she had her eyes closed, not to mention her eerie ability to stay perfectly still while she slept. 

He snapped his fingers. She didn’t flinch. Very, very lightly, he touched her on her arm. Still, she didn’t move. 

Lance grinned.

As quietly as he could, he opened up the bottle of sunscreen. He looked down at Allura in a bikini, sunbathing out on the porch, a perfect canvas for him to mess with her. What would he draw? 

A dick was too obvious, and besides, she might actually kill him for something that immature. He wasn’t really artistic enough to make anything besides basic shapes, especially not with sunscreen as his medium. 

He didn’t want to get anything on her face that might be dangerous, otherwise he’d go for a classic mustache and glasses. Maybe instead….oh, yes...yes that idea was perfect. Evil and perfect. 

He squirted a dab of sunscreen into his hands, rubbing it between his fingers to try and warm it up. Last thing he wanted was to wake Allura up with the sudden coldness. 

Slowly and carefully, he made his first swipe across Allura’s stomach. He froze, watching her, trying to see if she had woken up. 

Her breathing remained even, her smooth stomach rising and falling with each and every inhale and exhale. Lance smiled, proud of himself. 

He got to real work then, painting with the sunscreen like Michaelangelo on the cistine Chapel. Except this was sunscreen, and on his girlfriend’s stomach, and he was drawing a face. A familiar face. 

While he wasn’t an artist, really, he got the basic shapes down. Sharp chin, sharp nose, wide smile, bright eyes that were blue, if he could use color. The ears were a bit cartoonish, just semicircles on the side of the face. The piece de resistance, though, was his hair. He made sure to put the bangs in correctly, short and spikey, and even had the little cowlick on the back of his head. 

He stood up and admired his handiwork, staring back at a cartoonish version of his own face that lay neatly on Allura’s stomach. He took a moment to admire Allura too. Her skin was as soft as his own, as one of their favorite things to do with each other was exchange skin care products. 

He took out his phone and took a picture, ready to post it later. He wanted to get pictures of Allura’s reaction as well, but would have to wait. 

It was a rather good prank, he thought. The mark would eventually fade, and he’d placed it where she could easily cover it. He was a nice boyfriend, he complimented himself, despite having just pranked his loved one. 

He plopped down on the lounge chair beside her, ready to get some tanning of his own. He was proud of his dark skin, but sitting next to Allura he was practically pale. 

It wasn’t long before he started drifting off himself, smiling as he awaited Allura’s screams of horror and betrayal to wake him. 

He did not wake up to a scream, but rather a giggle. Once he was awake enough to process this fact, he frowned, not expecting that reaction. 

He pushed his sunglasses up to stare at Allura, standing over him. More remarkable than her beautiful, mischievous smile, or her bright sparkling eyes….was the distinct lack of a mark on her stomach. It was as smooth and brown as ever, maybe a shade or two darker from the sun. “Good morning, sleepyhead,” she said knowingly.

That was when Lance realized he felt something on his chest. Looking down he saw several little blots of sunscreen scattered about his chest and stomach….all in the shape of dicks.

He gasped, brushing one off with his fingers, but the damage had been done. A little light colored cartoonish dick sat in the center of his own brown skin.

Allura’s giggles turned to full blown laughing as he glared up at her. “Who would have thought that between the two of us, you’re the more immature?”

Allura shrugged, proud of her handiwork.


	31. Keith/Hunk Princess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunk is overtired, but Keith is going to get him to bed one way or another

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW Internalized Fatphobia

“Hunk.”

“Mm...”

Keith snapped his fingers in front of Hunk’s face. “Hunk!”

Hunk jerked up, blinking repeatedly. The blinks got slower as he adjusted to who was in front of him. “Keith?” he asked, “What is it?”

“It’s late,” Keith said, “I thought you said you were just going to be working on this engine another hour.”

“I did, it’s only been…” he looked at the clock, “....4 hours…”

“Mmhmm,” Keith said, unimpressed, “C’mon, big guy, let’s get you to bed.” Keith helped pull aside the engine, putting the tools away. 

Hunk yawned, his movements slowing as he closed the toolbox. He closed his eyes for a moment, resting up. “Hunk, this isn’t bed,” Keith said. 

Hunk blinked his eyes open again, sitting back, “Sorry, sorry,” he yawned again, “just resting my eyes for a minute,”

“You sure you’re going to make it to bed?” Keith said, putting his arm under his. As gently as he could, he helped Hunk to his feet. 

“Mm,” Hunk said, “Guess I’m more tired than I thought….kinda crashing.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” Keith said, “You want me to carry you?”

“What?” Hunk said, blinking rapidly and looking at him, “I...no, no...that’s fine, I can walk myself.”

Despite his certainty in his statement, Hunk swayed where he stood. Keith tried to stabilize him, but Hunk was reluctant to put any excess weight on him. “Scared?” Keith teased with his snarkiest smile.

Hunk glared at him. “No,” He said, mimicking Keith’s tone. 

“It’s ok,” Keith said, “I won’t make fun of you.” Hunk glared again. “Much.”

Hunk stuck out his tongue at him. “I’m not scared,” he said, “Just…”

“Just what?”

Hunk heaved a sigh. “You’re really going to make me say it?”

“Uhh,” Keith said, confused, “I guess so? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Keith. Look at us,” Hunk said, standing to his full height. “I’m like, twice your size. I don’t get carried around places. I’m just….I’m too big, ok?”

Keith stopped and turned to him, looking him dead in the eyes. Hunk frowned, trying to read him. Keith was most definitely inscrutable at times, and Hunk wondered if he had said something to accidentally offend him. “Keith?” he asked, concern rising through his tiredness, “something wrong?”

Keith’s frown deepened, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he released his hold on Hunk’s arm, making Hunk wobble as he stood. Then, he reached down and quite literally swept Hunk off his feet. 

Hunk gave an undignified yelp he would later regret as he flailed, grabbing helplessly around Keith’s neck, but Keith kept him steady.

The adrenaline from suddenly not having his feet touched the ground woke Hunk up a bit as he clung to Keith, who was holding him in perfect princess carry. He stared at Keith in shock. “What are you doing?” he asked. 

Keith stared him down with all his intensity, “You NEVER let any damn WIMP tell you that you’re anything but the perfect size, you hear me?”

The inflection Keith used admittedly scared Hunk a little. Keith was a very intense person, with a temper taller than he was, but Hunk got the sense Keith wasn’t mad at him so much as the whole universe at large for hurting him, even if he didn’t consider himself hurt. Keith was never angrier than when he was protecting the people he loved. 

Hunk smiled, the adrenaline fading and sleepiness creeping back on him. “Thank you,” he said, laying his head on Keith’s shoulder as Keith carried him away.


	32. Shiro/Matt Blanket

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's 100 degrees out, yet Shiro insists on sleeping with a blanket

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry no chapter yesterday, but I'm back. God its so hot....

“Babe, you’re making me hot. And not in the good way.”

Shiro groaned at him. “I need the blanket. I can’t sleep without it.” 

“Babe...babe.” Matt said, laying next to him, decidedly NOT in the blanket, and also wearing as little as possible with still being relatively decent, “It’s 100 degrees out. Look at your life. Look at your choices.”

“We have air conditioning,” Shiro muttered. 

“Yeah, which brings it down to like, 80,” Matt said, “It’s still too hot for a blanket.”

“Shush,” Shiro said, adjusting his pillow to close his eyes, “I need the weighted feeling surrounding me. Without it, I feel too open.”

Matt sighed. “I just don’t want you to overheat.”

“Mmm,” Shiro mumbled. It was a genuine concern. He felt sweat forming around him as they spoke, not so much in drips, but in a fine sheen over his skin and clothes, “I’ll be fine, come join me.”

“Not a chance,” Matt said, pushing him away, “I’m like, this close to just running and curling up in the freezer for the night.” 

“You better not break my freezer.” Shiro warned.

Matt flicked him on the head. “Don’t tell me what to do.”

Shiro smiled, eyes closed even though he was clearly not sleeping. “Come under the covers with me.”

“What did I just say?” Matt asked, “And now, I want to help you, not contribute to your heatstroke. And certainly don’t want to die myself.”

Shiro let out a high whine, pouting his lips, “But our love will keep us going.”

“But our combined body heats will turn us into a puddle in summer,” Matt said, “I am a pasty white, skinny snowman Shiro. There is a strong possibility that if I sweat, I’ll just melt away. Why do you think I avoid the sun so much?”

“Because you’ll turn into a lobster, Shiro answered. Matt flicked him on the forehead again. “You’re like a werewolf but a lobster and instead of a full moon its the sun.”

“That’s it,” Matt ignored the heat on his skin for the heat of anger in his blood, rolling over to conquer his foe. 

It was a trap. As Matt moved in to tackle, Shiro’s eyes snapped open, and he lifted the blanket, pulling Matt in close to himself. “Noooooooo,” Matt whined, “Shirooooo, I’ll die! I can’t cuddle if I’m dead!”

“Stop being overdramatic,” Shiro said, nestling around him, “We go down together.”

“Screw that!” Matt said, struggling for freedom. “Every man for himself! Abandon ship! Evacuate the territor--”

Shiro restrained him with his prosthetic arm, making Matt freeze. Literally. “How…” he muttered, “How is it so cold?”

“Put it in the freezer for a bit,” Shiro said, “keeps me nice and chilly even under the blanket.”

Despite his earlier protests, Matt now curled up as tight and close to the arm as he could. “It’s so cool...it’s like a giant ice pack….”

“Mmmhmm,” Shiro said, “Now be careful, you don’t want freezerburn”

“Honestly I’ll take it,” Matt said, putting his face directly on Shiro’s metal bicep, “oooooh, it’s so good.”

Shiro chuckled. “Well, at least I found a way to earn your love.”


	33. Shiro/Allura Flour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allura is pregnant and on bed rest. Shiro tries to cook for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cw pregnancy, fire.

“Shiro, I’m pregnant not an invalid,” Allura protested. Shiro would have said ‘pouted’ if he wanted to face the full wrath of pregnant Allura. 

“I know, honey,” Shiro said in his most diplomatic voice, “but the doctor said you should be on bed rest. That means no unnecessary activity. I can handle things around here for a while.” he smiled.

Allura sighed, “I know you can,” she said, “I just have all these cravings and I know how to make the food to satisfy them and cooking will make it seem like I’m not waiting as long for it.” She put a hand on her stomach.

“Don’t you worry, you won’t have to wait long,” Shiro said, “I’ll make whatever you need. Now, what do you and baby want?” 

Allura thought for a moment. “Fish and chips?” she said, “And not that damn American version.”

“You got it,” Shiro said, kissing her forehead, “Now, you go to sleep, and when you wake up, you’ll have some tasty fish and chips to eat. Alright?”

Allura grumbled, nestling into the couch cushions. Shiro stroked her hair in the way that made her eyes flutter shut. She knew what he was doing, it was a trick to make her more tired and give in. “Are you sure you’ll be ok with the frying?”

Shiro smiled, “Of course, don’t worry,” He pats her head, “I’m a much better cook now, I learn from the best.”

“Hunk?” She suggested with a teasing eyebrow. 

He snorted, “Yeah, exactly.” 

She sighed, permission granted for him to go into the kitchen and make something. He retreated, and still she watched him go.

Shiro wasn’t a BAD cook, really. He was perfectly capable of feeding himself without solely depending on frozen meals and take out. Granted, both of those things contributed heavily to his routine, but he didn’t depend on them. 

Allura herself wasn’t really the best. She learned relatively late in life, letting her father and Coran treat her as their little girl and pamper her until she was an adult, when Coran suddenly realized he should be teaching Allura these kinds of things. She depended a great deal on Coran’s recipes and tips she learned from the internet. 

Shiro’s real problem was baking. He never met a cookie he couldn’t burn, or a cake he couldn’t crumble because he’d completely forgot about greasing the pan. Ever since Allura’s birthday they just let Hunk handle the sweets. 

She sighed again, listening to the sounds of Shiro mussing about in the kitchen. He was right, she was supposed to be resting, even though Baby felt like they were ready to eat their way out of Allura’s stomach. She put her hand on baby, trying to calm them down, doing the breathing exercises her doctor had told her. 

There was an occasional bang or scuffle in the kitchen from pots and pans and drawers, but Allura calmly ignored it. It’s fine, she told herself, its fine its fine, Shiro can do this. They weren’t like those couples where the man was helpless at domestic chores. She trusted Shiro to take care of her and Baby. Its fine its fine its fine.

“Um, honey?” Shiro asked in his forced calm voice, “It’s….its flour you put on a kitchen fire, right? To smother the flames?”

Allura snapped her eyes open. Well being be damned. She jumped up and waddled over to the kitchen as fast as she could, finding the pan sitting on the stove, with the oil on fire. 

She grabbed the pan lid and jammed it over the area, covering it to smother the flames. 

Shiro looked like a puppy that had knocked over an expensive vase. “You didn’t have to get up…” he said guiltily, “I could handle it…”

“You were about to put highly flammable FLOUR on a kitchen fire!” she snapped, her adrenaline making her sound angrier than she was. 

“Well, no,” He said, “I mean, I remembered not to put water on, I knew that much. It was just a matter of, like, what to use to smother it. Is it baking soda?”

Allura sighed, the adrenaline making her more tired. “Lets….lets just order in tonight.”

She took his hand and dragged him over to the couch. He might not be the best chef, but he made a very good pillow.


	34. Pidge/Hunk Fort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunk tries to get Pidge to clean by promising to build a pillow fort. However, they both get a little caught up in the building part.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Literal fluff, can be read as platonic or romantic.

“We need more blankets!” Pidge called.

“Grab some from the supply closet,” Hunk yelled back.

“That’s what I’m telling you, the supply closet’s out!”

Hunk sighed, thinking as he tested weight on a load-bearing pillow. “Head to the bathroom and grab some towels,” He called back.

“Ooh, good thinking!” He heard the scramble of Pidge crawling away.

Hunk’s eyes darted around the edges of the tunnel he had created. It looked sturdy.

Behind him came a thump as one of the pillows fell forward, like himself after a difficult exam, weighted down by the pressure of life. Except the pillow didn’t have exams, just some blankets leaning on it, so it was rather rude of it to fall. “No, no, no!” Hunk said, launching himself forward to put the pillow back up before it fell.

He sighed in relief as the pillow remained in place. He used his foot to grab duct tape, sticking the damn thing where it would sit so it wouldn’t take down all his hard work.

Ok, he was willing to admit: Some things might have gotten out of hand here. When he’d come to Pidge’s room, his initial goal was to get her to clean up a bit, maybe make her bed at least. That had turned into a bargaining deal of ‘if you clean, I’ll help you build a cool pillow fort!’

The thing was, Hunk was an engineer. Pretty quickly, he got caught up in the design of the fort and the best way to build it.

“Did you just duct tape my pillow?” Pidge asked, crawling into the antechamber. Yeah, the fort had an antechamber.

“Uhh….” Hunk said, looking at it, trying to think if there was any way of denying it when the evidence was sitting in front of him. “Yes?”

Pidge snorted, “It’s gone through worse.” She sat up on her knees and saluted, “The east tunnel is finished, officer.”

“Excellent work, Cadet,” Hunk nodded officially, “I’ve got the north tunnel completed, the main hall is looking steady, and the antechamber is doing well. Anything we’ve forgotten?”

“Um….” Pidge opened up the plans that they’d written down on several pieces of paper, all taped together. Hunk got a new roll of duct tape that day and had been excited to use it all. It had ducks on it. “No, I think it’s complete.”

“Wow,” Hunk said looking up and around, “We’ve been working on this for hours. There’s a part of me that didn’t think we’d get it done.”

“Where’s your sense of pride?” Pidge said, fake punching his arm. Her fake punches were still kinda strong… “So. Now what.”

Hunk sighed, looking around. “Could grab some snacks….maybe enjoy a movie night. Just relax in here among the pillows until we fall asleep.

Pidge nodded, slowly, “Yeah…yeah that makes sense.” She looked around herself. “What movie you wanna see?”

Hunk shrugged, not picky. Truth be told he still had some of his adrenaline going from building the fort. He wanted to keep going, but of course, it was already complete. “I dunno, whatever you want.”

Pidge hummed, looking over the fort herself. “You know….” she said, “We could always….” She drifted off mid sentance.

“Yeah?”

She shrugged, “Tear it down and design another one?”

Hunk blinked. A smile quickly grew across his face. “I like the way you think.”

Tearing it down was even more fun than setting it up, though they quickly ran into trouble when they realized how MUCH duct tape Hunk had used.

Still, the room looked oddly empty once they piled up all the blankets and pillows into one corner, laying paper down to begin plans for Fort 2.

Their adrenaline rush died halfway through building, and in the morning, Lance came to find them both curled under a half-broken down fort.


	35. Hunk/Lance/Pidge Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a late night movie watching, the Garrison Trio is reluctant to get up.
> 
> Can be read as platonic or romantic.

They weren’t sure which of them woke up first, but once one was up, the others stirred as well, all lazy, all fluttering their eyes open and closed. “‘Time is it?” Pidge mumbled.

Lance turned over, feeling grimy after not having done his nightly facial routine. They’d substituted their usual bedtime routines for a movie night, pushing their beds together and curling up next to each other. “Is 9:16,” Lance said.

Both Hunk and Pidge groaned. It was later than their usual wake up time, but it felt so much earlier. “We should probably get breakfast,” Hunk said, “The dining hall will close soon.”

Lance groaned this time, and Pidge slumped face down into the pillow. “Here,” Lance said, reaching over to find the abandoned snacks from last night, “Tasty, tasty breakfast.”

He jammed the handful of stale popcorn into his mouth, making Hunk visibly gag. “That’s just...that’s just wrong.”

“It’s this, getting up, or going hungry,” Lance said, crunching on the buttery snack. 

Hunk thought about it for a long moment. “I’ll go hungry,” Hunk said, rolling over.

Pidge, on the other hand, reached over Lance, “I’ll have some.”

“Ow! Careful, your little elbows are sharp!” Lance complained. 

“Then stay still!” Pidge shot back. She grabbed her own handful and shoved it in her mouth hole. “You know, it’s not bad,” She said, “It’s like...buttered toast.”

“Salty buttered toast,” Lance agreed. 

“You are both disgusting,” Hunk said, rolling over.

Lance and Pidge exchanged sleepy smiles. They each reached over and grabbed handfulls of popcorn, before rolling to conquer their enemy. 

“What the--” Hunk muttered as Pidge clambered over him, “No, no!” He said, shaking his head back and forth to avoid Lance and Pidge’s attempts at forcefeeding him. “Ugggh, assholes, stop it!” 

“Never!” Pidge laughed sleepily. She grabbed Hunk’s arm and tried to pin it, but Hunk was stronger.

However, Lance worked in other ways, using misdirection to try and get Hunk to focus on Pidge, while he slipped in, slapping a popcorn covered hand over Hunk’s mouth. 

Hunk’s face screwed up as the the taste touched his tongue. He gagged, turning over to grab napkins to spit the accursed kernels out, wiping his tongue off as he did. “You guys are the WORST!”

Pidge and Lance snorted a little, throwing their handfulls of popcorn away. “Youuu love us,” Lance sung, nuzzling up to him.

Hunk groaned. “There are popcorn kernels in the bed.”

“Those are from last night, I think,” Pidge said, climbing on top of Hunk. “We are sorry, Hunk.”

“Yeah,” Lance said. Hunk groaned, not believing them, “Ok, we might not regret it, but we ARE sorry.”

Hunk huffed. “Fine. Accepted. Don’t ever feed me again.”

“Fine, fine,” Lance acquiesced. “Do we have anything to do today?”

“Well,” Pidge said, “There’s homework for the weekend. Or we could go out and do something outside...probably have a rare chance to go into town…”

Lance and Hunk hummed. “How about…” he said, “We have some leftovers from the fridge and stay in bed all day. To rest our energy, of course.”

“Of course!” Lance agreed, “Very responsible suggestion, Hunk.”

“Incredibly mature,” Pidge said, with a yawn. She lay her head down on Hunk’s shoulder. 

Slowly, Hunk rolled so she slid between him and Lance. Lance readjusted so the both of them were curled around her, like protective giants. It was amazing how someone so mischievous could look innocent and peaceful as she slept. “Good night,” Pidge muttered. 

“‘Night,” Hunk and Lance agreed, before they all slipped back into sleep.


	36. Lance/Hunk Cow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaltenecker gets in the house while Hunk and Lance are sleeping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not apologizing for no chapter yesterday this time nor how short this one is. I'm just....tired. I'm so tired.

“AAAAaaaauuugh!” Hunk said, jerking awake. “Fucks sake Lance get your cow out of the bed!”

Lance jerked awake, blinking as he took in his surroundings. Hunk was lying beside him while Kaltenecker’s neck was leaning far over the bed, giant head resting on Hunk’s chest, “Oh, shit,” he muttered to himself. He jumped up and started pulling on Kaltenecker’s rope, “C’mon Kalty, C’mon. Hunk’s my pillow, not yours.”

“Thanks,” Hunk muttered irritated. 

Kaltenecker mooed in protest, very comfortable with her position. “Kalty, the bed is not for you,” Lance said.

Reluctantly, Kaltenecker allowed herself to be moved, and Lance led her away. 

“Could have had a dog,” Hunk muttered, “Or a cat. Maybe even a rabbit, but you have a pet cow.”

“Hey, don’t take this out on Kalty, she didn’t know better,” Lance said, “She just wants cuddles.” He patted her.

“She’s a COW Lance,” Hunk said, grumbling.

Lance frowned, but wasn’t going to argue right now as he took Kaltenecker out to the yard, closing and locking the door behind him.

Lance walked back inside to see Hunk grumping. “Hey,” Lance said softly, “Don’t have a cow, man.”

Hunk huffed. “How did she even get in the house?”

“She’s very talented,” Lance said, getting back in bed. Hunk huffed again. “Love me, love my cow.”

Hunk groaned, turning over, “Lance I had a long day and I am so….so overtired, and I did not want to be woken up by a cow.” 

Lance grumped on his own, turning away from Hunk. He mumbled an apology, frowning. 

He heard Hunk sigh and roll closer. “I’m sorry I’m grumpy,” he said, “You know I typically love Kaltenecker.” 

Lance sniffed. “And me?”

Hunk chuckled, “Of course, and you.”

Lance turned over to look at him, “Would you really have preferred a dog or a cat?”

Hunk hummed, “I don’t know. Can’t make milkshakes from a dog or a cat.”

“Well, you can,” Lance said, “You just have to be very careful.”

Hunk snorted. “Maybe someday I would. I don’t know, I haven’t thought a whole lot about it.” He sighed, “And I’m really really tired.”

Lance snuggled up to him, “You go to sleep. I’ll protect you from anymore invading cows.”

Hunk smiled and drifted almost instantly.


	37. Lance/Lotor Trigger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lotor's feeling mentally terrible, so Lance comes to help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Depressive episode, trouble sleeping, Parental Neglect, Depression, College AU, Nightmares, Stress Dreams, Triggers

Lotor glared at his window where the sun was rising. He picked up his phone. 6 am. Fucking fuck off hell.

He had class in 3 hours. He’d gone to bed….well he wasn’t too sure how long ago. It was after 1 am. 

Fuuuuuck.

His dreams were properly nightmarish. Nothing of terrifying creatures or dark shadows. To be honest the dreams didn’t really make much sense. Like at one point he had a wife, but then he remembered he was gay and so instead of his subconscious making it a husband or something, it made him a woman. 

The nightmare part was that he was dying. It was some stupid illness like a goddamn sitcom. 

It was stupid now that he was awake, though he supposed he shouldn’t have expected differently. The last few days had been a fun cocktail of stress leading to some of the most unproductive days he’d had, even when he was sick. Classes….weren’t as stressful as they could be but there was still quite a bit of work to do. Maybe it was the lack of impending deadlines that was letting Lotor build up the damn tasks. 

He leaned over, grabbing some snacks from his side table and deciding the unhealthy array of chips was his breakfast, and then swallowed his medication, before turning back to his pillow and crashing. 

Another dream. This one was a stress dream, though he couldn’t remember the details, he felt the effects. Woo. 

A knock came at his door. “Hey Lotor? You awake?” He heard Lance call into his dorm. Lotor groaned, turning to press his head into his pillow. He loved Lance but wasn’t really in good condition at the moment, and didn’t really think he wanted Lance to see him like this. 

His phone buzzed, and he opened one eye to look. ‘I heard that’ a text from Lance said, ‘Come open the door.’

With herculean effort, Lotor plucked himself out of bed. In an act of pure over-exhausted pettiness, he unlocked the door without opening it. 

Lance, thankfully, took his cue to open it himself. Lotor turned away, slumping back on his bed. “Are you alright?” Lance asked, despite the answer being decently obvious. Lotor groaned back at him. 

Lance sat on the edge of his bed, and Lotor felt his long fingers card their way through his hair. “You’ve missed your classes for two days, babe,” he said, “And don’t think I haven’t noticed your text responses have been pretty monosyllabic lately.” Lotor groaned again. “C’mon, please talk to me?”

Lotor sighed and turned his head to the side. “There’s nothing to talk about,” he said, “I’ve just been tired and can’t sleep and my mood is in the tube.”

“Have you been taking your medicine?” Lance asked, kindly.

Lotor nodded. “It’s working. I think. It WAS working, anyway.” A few weeks ago, Lotor was feeling the best he’d ever felt in a long, long time. A year ago, after his parents kicked him out, he’d been feeling his absolute lowest. Lance, only his friend at the time, had done a lot to help pull him out of it, including getting the help he needed. He felt like he was disappointing him by starting to feel bad again. Nothing like last year, but...not great. 

Lotor started to tear up thinking of it. He hated crying, especially in front of people. He tried to hide his face, but Lance noticed, wiping his tears for him. “Hey, its okay,” Lance said, kindly, “It’s okay, it’s okay.” Lotor leaned into his hand like an affection-starved cat. “Can you think of anything that may have started this?”

Lotor thought back to the last day he’d gone to class. “I mean….I guess there was a reading assignment,” he thought, “Talking about parenting and stuff, you know?” Lance hummed in understanding, “But it didn’t affect me THAT bad, it wasn’t a trigger or anything. I was fine a few minutes later. It’s not like I can avoid any mentions of parents, especially in class assignments.”

“To be honest, babe, it kinda SOUNDS like a trigger,” Lance said, still keeping his tone even, “Maybe not for a panic attack, but…it sounds like it triggered something.”

Lotor groaned for the billionth time, “I just...don’t feel like doing...anything.” He sighed, “I’m so tired…”

Lance arranged himself so his back was against the wall, “Listen, you don’t have to go to class today. As someone with depression himself, you’re feeling sick and you need to take care of yourself. Take as much time as you want.” Lance angled Lotor’s face to look up at him, “IF you’re feeling up to it, though, at some point we can go do something. Just to help pull you out.”

Lotor nodded, “okay,” He said, resting on Lance’s thigh, “Will you stay here?”

Lance smiled, “Of course.”

Finally, Lotor’s dreams were not stressful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm in a bit of a funk.


	38. Thace/Ulaz Sync

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thace and Ulaz have finally got married, and now try to sleep for their wedding night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW Army, Don't Ask Don't Tell, Wedding, Blatant Fanonization of Characters, Human AU

“Thace, Thace no, Thace put me down, PUT ME DOWN!”

Instead of the ever-romantic princess-carry, Thace had opted for carrying Ulaz in more of a fire-man’s carry as he struggled with unlocking and opening his door. This was made all the more difficult as Ulaz fought him, trying to break his grip. “Hold still,” Thace ordered. Ulaz was taller than him, and his damn butt was blocking Thace’s vision as he tried to put the key in the lock. 

Ulaz did not hold still. He continued squirming, trying to break Thace’s hold. He did not LIKE not having his feet off the ground, especially when he was wearing a nice, rented suit he had managed to keep in fine condition throughout the evening’s festivities. Finally, Thace got the door opened and carried Ulaz through, his head bumping on the threshold. “Oomf!”

“Sorry!” Thace said, putting him down. Ulaz groaned, massaging the hit in his head. He could feel the pain would fade soon, but at the moment, it was sharp. He glared at Thace. “I AM sorry,” he protested, “but it’s tradition!”

“Tradition to maim your loved ones?” Ulaz said, getting his shoes and carefully removing his suit.

“Tradition to carry your beloved newlywed over the threshold,” Thace said, interrupting him again to put his arms around his waist, “So you see, I had to.”

Ulaz’ heart melted a little, but he wasn’t going to admit that. He leaned back into Thace’s hold, as Thace reached to kiss his cheek. “You talk as though we’re a pair 20-somethings, fresh-eyed and just getting used to being in love. We’ve been together for over 2 decades.”

It was true, they’d technically been together ever since they were in the military, the loudmouth soldier, and the handsome british doctor who was more rebellious than he seemed. That was back in the days of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and so they couldn’t say anything or make it known, though they suspected some of their platoon guessed. Then when they made it home, they were separated by a large ocean, ‘and that was before facetime existed!’ Thace had recounted earlier that evening to their young friends.

There was a time they thought that was all they’d get, infrequent visits, calls on a landline, an occasional break-up when homophobic relatives and life in general convinced them it wouldn’t work….but with some help from their old platoon and new friends they were reunited, and finally, married. 

Thace nuzzled deeper into Ulaz’ neck at the thought, slowly swaying Ulaz in his arms, and Ulaz put his hands on top of his arms, letting Thace feel the ring sitting there. “Thace dear,” Ulaz said. Thace hummed, content, “We have to get to bed.”

“We’re both asexual, Ulaz,” Thace murmured against his neck, “Don’t conform to heterosexual traditions.”

Ulaz sighed and groaned, “I MEANT we have to get to sleep. We have Brunch tomorrow with Kolivan and the others, and then we have a flight out for our Honeymoon. And ONE of us still hasn’t finished packing.”

Thace groaned. “We both know you’re just going to re-pack for me anyway.” Ulaz grumbled at him. “Fine, fine. To our sleeping chambers, Dear Husband!” 

Laughing and stumbling, they both made it into the bedroom, peeling off their tuxes and putting on pajamas. Ulaz could complain all he wanted, he was just as touchy and clingy as Thace. Even as he grumped, he was smiling and trading kisses.

Once they were all tucked in, Thace closed his eyes, replaying the last few hours, listening to Ulaz’ vows, their guests cheering….he’d cried more than once, in part because he was just so grateful all the damn wedding planning was finally over.

“Thace?” Ulaz whispered into the dark room. Thace hummed. “I can’t sleep.”

Thace blinked one eye open, noting Ulaz’ open eyes softly glinting in the low light. He reached out, threading a hand through his husband’s mohawk that he’d kept all these years for some unknown reason. It was grey now, but still soft.

He pulled Thace into a tight hug, like he might slip through his fingers if he wasn’t careful. “Just close your eyes,” Thace said, pressing a kiss to the shaved part of his head, “And just listen to the rhythm of the night.”

“My heart’s beating too fast,” Ulaz muttered, “I can’t hear anything else,”

Thace smiled, adjusting their positions to press Ulaz’ head to his chest. “Listen to my heart, then,” he whispered, “Let it keep you steady.”

Ulaz turned his head so his ear was placed perfectly over Thace’ beating heart. They breathed together, in and out, lungs pulsing at the same rate. Slowly, their heart beats synced up, beating together for now until the end of time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually really like this AU, may expand on it at some point if people are interested.


	39. Nyma/Rolo Break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rolo goes for a nap in the breakroom, but maybe he should have listened to Nyma's warning first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW Dog, Human AU

Rolo leaned up and stretched, listening to his back crack far more than was probably healthy. He needed to stop slouching. 

With the stretch came a yawn. He needed more coffee. Or maybe just more sleep. “Hey, Hunk,” He shouted over to the other mechanic, “I’m going on break.”

Hunk nodded over to him. They weren’t too incredibly crowded today so it wasn’t the end of the world. 

As soon as he stood up his plans went immediately from ‘get coffee’ to ‘take powernap.’ There were some things Coffee couldn’t cure. Actually, maybe he’d do both. Fuck, he could use a shower too, but that’d have to wait until his shift was over. 

He made his way into the lobby where he tried to stand up straighter. The new receptionist, Nyma, was on duty, sitting alone, probably on her phone based off the way she looked beneath her desk. Rolo couldn’t deny he had a bit of a crush on her. And why shouldn’t he? She was smart, beautiful, charming….she knew just as much about engines as any of the mechanics, only stopped from being one herself for some stupid sexist bullshit, but she’d make it, Rolo was sure.

Of course, he’d never in a million years TELL her he had a crush. That would ruin everything. 

As he walked in, she stashed her phone. “Angry Birds?” He asked. She blanched at being caught. “No worries, it’s a slow day. And I’m not your boss anyway.” 

She snorted. “2048, actually,” she said, “I’m convinced to beat my high score.”

“Don’t you just win once you hit 2048?” He asked, “Like, thats the name of the game, right?”

She stuck her tongue out at him. “Maybe for an amateur.”

He chuckled, putting his hands up in surrender. Another yawn came up and he quickly covered his mouth before he looked too gross in front of her. “If I keep your secret, will you keep mine? I’m gonna take a nap.”

Nyma chuckled, “Yeah, no worries.” He nodded at her in thanks, and made his way back to the breakroom. “Wait, are you napping in the breakroom?”

“Yeah, why?”

She looked alarmed, but at that second, the bell rang and customers came in. She reluctantly let him go as she greeted them warmly. 

Rolo thought about waiting for her to finish so she could tell him whatever it was she was saying, but another yawn dashed that plan. He made his way to the breakroom, zeroing in on the shitty chair and the table. A quick alarm set on his phone, and he was out. 

His dream was about Nyma, riding together in his dream car, a convertible, her blonde ponytails whipping in the wind, the both of them laughing and yelling in joy. He parked on a cliffside, looking over the lights in the town.

In the dream, Nyma leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. He tried to turn to meet her lips, but she just kept turning to kiss his cheek over and over until his cheek was wet.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Rolo heard his alarm. He had to wake up. He felt himself get out of the dream….except Nyma was still kissing him.

Confused, he opened his eyes and looked up. That wasn’t Nyma at all. Instead he was staring at a bright-eyed bushy-tailed corgi that had jumped onto the table and was staring nose to nose with him. “Uh,” he said, blinking, “Hi.”

The corgi licked him again on his cheek, which was a lot less nice now that Rolo realized it was a dog and not a beautiful woman. “Hey!” He aggressively wiped the slobber off his cheek, getting more motor grease on him rather than getting slobber off. 

The door clicked open and Nyma ran in. “Sorry, sorry!” She said, coming to pick the dog up. “I couldn’t leave him with the dog sitter today, and he doesn’t do well left alone, so, I thought maybe since it was slow….I could bring him here.” 

Rolo blinked further awake, “Oh, uh, gotcha. Well, that’s not bad. He’s...he’s kinda cute.” Rolo said. “Can I pet him?”

Nyma nodded, holding out the dog. His whole butt was wagging at the thought of affection. “What’s his name?” Rolo asked. 

“Beezer,” Nyma said. 

Rolo smiled, scratching his head. “Hey Beezer.” She grinned at him, pleased someone loved her dog.


	40. Lotor & Narti Sleeping Pill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zarkon takes his son and ex-wife-new-girlfriend Haggar on their annual camping trip. Lotor is allowed to bring one friend, but that doesn't stop him from hating his mother. Luckily, his friend Narti has a plan.
> 
> Platonic Lotor & Narti only

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess this could be a Haggar/Zarkon fic but I have ideas about Narti and Lotor's friendship. 
> 
> Human AU, Child AU, Ableism, Parent Trap plot

Haggar and Lotor snarled at each other against the fire pit. They’d been at each other’s throats for weeks. Lotor didn’t care what his damn birth certificate said, this...WITCH who had abandoned him at birth wasn’t his mother. 

Zarkon was either oblivious or ignoring the tension between his son and ex-wife-now-girlfriend. Granted, he and Lotor didn’t always get along either, but they went on their damn annual camping vacation anyway. To convince Lotor into coming, Zarkon had even let Lotor bring a friend along, which is why Narti was passively sitting beside Lotor, chewing on a s’more without a care in the world. 

Behind her back, Haggar had made it clear what he thought of Lotor’s friend. She complained to Zarkon why they had to go so slow “just to accommodate the blind girl” and “if she can’t walk up to speed, she should just stay home.”

Lotor was ready to throw down right then, yell and scream about how Narti had more place here and in Lotor’s life than she ever would, the deadbeat parent that she was. Narti had gripped his arm all the tighter, though, as he guided her down the path, “Patience,” was all she said. Narti didn’t speak much, but when she did, Lotor knew to listen. 

Haggar finished her dinner and picked up a pair of sticks, starting to clack them in the direction of the woods, “Uh, Hon,” Zarkon said, using her old nickname, “What are you doing?” 

She looked to him confused. “Making noise to ward of the coyotes and--” she paused as Lotor desperately tried and failed to keep a straight face. She glared at him. “There aren’t any coyotes in these woods, are there?”

Zarkon shook his head, looking more disapproving of his son. “No,” he answered. 

She flared her nostrils at Lotor like a dragon, but instead of retaliating by cursing or assaulting, she instead leaned down to give Zarkon a nice, long, gross kiss on the lips. Lotor curled his lips in disgust, “I’m going to bed,” She said, standing up, “Taking a nice, big sleeping pill, and not resting until morning.” She sighed dramatically and went into her tent.

Lotor glared at her all the way. As Zarkon started to clean up the meal and the fire, Narti and Lotor headed over to their area of the campsite. “I hate her!” He muttered to Narti, “I hate her, I hate her so MUCH! I don’t want her as my mother, I won’t accept it! Why’d she have to come back? Why now?”

Narti didn’t answer, but Lotor supposed there wasn’t one. Annoyed, Lotor grabbed a stone and tossed it into the lake with a satisfying ‘plop.’ “We should just run,” Lotor said, “Just go into the woods and find our own way and leave them far behind. My governess taught me some basic driving, if we grabbed Dad’s keys we could probably steal the car,”

“No,” Narti said, calmly and firmly. 

Lotor sighed and sat on the ground beside her. “You’re right. We’ll probably just get lost. Besides, getting rid of us is exactly what she wants.”

“No,” Narti repeated, “I meant that I had a better idea.” Narti didn’t smile often, but when she did, it was with such ferocity Lotor couldn’t help but get chills. 

 

Lotor helped Narti over to Haggar’s tent, though now that she was getting a feel for the campsite, she could probably navigate better than him in the dark. She was the one who managed to zip open the tent practically silently, and she was the one who gripped the edge of Haggar’s air mattress and pull it from the tent with a single tug. 

Lotor couldn’t help an evil chuckle. “I hope that was a nice, big sleeping pill,” he whispered quietly to Narti. 

“Shh,” she said, though she was smiling as well. Lotor helped her drag the mattress down the sandy beach, and down to the lake. They’d both rolled up their pants and taken off their shoes as they stepped a few feet into the water, before pushing the mattress out to float in the center of the lake. 

Lotor grinned evilly. “Sweet dreams, Mommy Dearest.”

 

In the morning, both kids woke up to the sound of Haggar’s screams. Lotor sat up peaking through a gap in the tent to watch her scramble. Zarkon came zooming out of his own tent to watch as well, “What...What are you doing?” He yelled out to Haggar. 

“Help me!” Haggar yelled back, squealing as she accidentally tipped too far on the mattress and then fell headfirst into the lake.

Lotor couldn’t hold in a giggle, which got Zarkon’s attention. He looked over, locking eyes with Lotor through the gap in the zipper. All humor vanished, and Lotor quickly zipped the tent back up, knowing Zarkon would punish him beyond his wildest dreams. 

He leaned back on his sleeping bag, listening to Haggar splash in the lake, and his smile returned. It was worth it.


	41. Krolia/"Jack" Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack's had a long day at work, but is happy to come home to Krolia and baby Keith

Jack cricked his neck, stepping off his hoverbike. What a day. Damn deserts. There’d been a brush fire up to the north, and they’d been working for several days to try and keep it contained. It was finally down to reasonable levels. The others who had gotten a nice break could handle the rest.

Every day he thought about retiring. He was spending less and less time in town as it was, preferring the company of his…..girlfriend didn’t sound right. Krolia had been on Earth for several years now, and had been with Jack for nearly as long. If she were human, he’d have asked her to marry him. Heck, they had a kid together. But her appearance might have been hard to explain to any city hall official to try and get a marriage license, let alone her complete lack of paperwork. It had been tricky enough bribing people to get a birth certificate for Keith.

Still, he needed money to buy food and supplies for his...Krolia...and child, and so work he did. Plus there was the added benefit of saving lives as a firefighter and all that. It didn’t really make enough money to support them, but he’d been doing his best to live on his own sustainably even before a big strong hot alien landed in his front yard. Besides, he wasn’t someone who could handle an office job. Didn’t have the patience for it. 

He wiped a hand down his face, leaving the hoverbike in the shed as he trudged over to the main house. He considered his options. Option one, take a shower so he could get the grime and ash off his skin before he lay in his nice clean sheets next to Krolia. Option two, collapse instantly, and worry about any hygiene consequences tomorrow. Option two was looking nicer and nicer with each step. 

He leaned his forehead against the door when he reached it, just for a second, and felt consciousness slip from him a moment. His adrenaline kicked in and he lifted his head so he didn’t slip off the door.

He finished turning the lock and walked in, surprised that the lights were on. “Krolia?” He called softly into the house. The only response he heard was a light snore. He followed it into the living room, where he found Krolia on the couch, Keith napping on her chest.

Even as he felt he might fall asleep any moment, he couldn’t help the warmth flooding his chest. As tough as it was in heavy boots, he made his way across the floor as silently as possible, over to the couch. 

He leaned over the couch to kiss her lightly on the head. Yellow eyes flashed open, and Krolia tensed as only an alien spy-warrior could. However, she focused in on Jack’s face before she moved to defend herself, instantly relaxing and letting her eyes droop again. “You’re home,” she muttered. 

“I’m home,” he said. Lightly, so as not to wake him, he kissed the top of Keith’s head too. “Why aren’t you in bed?”

She shrugged, “wanted to wait for you.” She looked around her surroundings, hand protectively going to Keith’s back, “Guess I didn’t do so well.”

He snorted, “Considering you didn’t have to do that at all, we’ll give you a pass.” He offered her a hand to gently get her up.

She cradled Keith close, and then sniffed, “You smell.”

He scoffed, “Thanks.”

“Did you eat dinner?” She asked.

He shrugged, “Not hungry.”

She tsked him. “Go take a shower, I’ll heat something up for you.”

He groaned, worried he might fall asleep in the shower. “I’m really fine.”

“Nu-uh,” She said, “Go, Keith has something to show you.”

Jack frowned, wondering what a 9-month old would have to show him, but reluctantly did as told. 

When he returned downstairs, Krolia was holding Keith up. “C’mon, c’mon,” she muttered, “You did it before. Do it again.”

Keith blinked at her, blowing little saliva bubbles. “Honey?” Jack asked, confused at the scene. 

Keith and Krolia both looked over to him. Keith gave an excited squeal at the sight. “Dada!” he exclaimed. 

Jack stopped in his tracks. “Did he….”

“Dada! Dada!”

Krolia smiled, “I wanted to stay up and show you! He’s been doing it all day.

Jack came over and embraced his family. This was worth staying up for.


	42. Alfor & Allura Eso Si Que Es

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After her mother's death, 4-year-old Allura goes to snuggle with her father. 
> 
> Platonic only, for obvy reasons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Human AU, I guess. I dunno, theres spanish, so, I guess thats human.

Alfor wasn’t surprised when he saw Allura standing at his bedroom door. In fact, he’d been waiting for her, reading his book as he went. “Hey sweetling,” he said as she peeked in shyly. She stepped in a little further as she realized her presence was noted, “You wanna come in?”

She nodded excessively, jumping in and up to the bed. Alfor sighed and put his book away as she curled in beside him.

She had come to rest with him in bed nearly everyday, ever since...well ever since her mother’s funeral. Alfor knew it was sad, but looking at Allura sitting there, he was glad to have her here with him.

Once she tucked herself in, she snuggled right up against him, feet poking out of her nightgown to rest against his legs. Even though his legs were covered, he flinched at the feeling, “Great Groggery, child, your feet are like little icicles!”

Allura, actually proud of herself, giggled. She rubbed her foot down his leg so she’d freeze of her father as she could. “Aaaah!” He exaggerated his reaction to make Allura laugh more. Reaching under the covers, he took her foot in hand, lifting it up, “Are we sure that’s a foot? Are you turning into an ice monster?”

“No!” She giggled, wiggling her toes in his hand, “It’s just my feet!”

He huffed, “You need some blood circulation in there,” he said, rubbing the feet to warm them, but mostly to make Allura laugh more. “Or to wear some socks.”

“Nooo,” Allura whined, “Socks make my feet feel weird!”

Alfor hummed in sympathy, “Well, you know what they say in spanish about that?” She shook her head, “Eso si que es. You know what that means?” She shook her head again. “Socks!”

She giggled again, but shook her head refusing. “Alright, then,” He said, releasing her foot, “But if I wake up and you’ve turned into an ice monster, I’m going to be very scared.”

“I wouldn’t hurt you, father,” she said, “Even if I was an ice monster!” Her little hands gripped his shirt to emphasize her point, making sure he fully understood that she would never hurt him. 

He smiled, “I know, love,” and kissed her head. 

He settled in to go to sleep himself, even though it was much earlier than he’d normally get to sleep on his own. But if it was Allura’s bedtime, that means it was his too. 

Allura bumped up right against his back. Cautiously, he pulled back a little, afraid he might roll over and crush her. Of course, that just made her scoot closer. 

He pushed himself over, allowing them both a little more room. Allura didn’t seem to get the message, though, as she only squirmed closer, pressing up as much as she could. 

In a last ditch effort, Alfor turned onto his side, facing away from her, so that she could have all the room she wanted. Now, the bed in question was a king sized, Plenty big enough for two full grown people with space left over, and should, in theory, be big enough for one full grown man and a four year old girl. Especially when said young girl had about 80% of the bed to herself. 

And yet once again, he felt Allura curl up beside him, as though she were a tiny forklift, pushing under his back so that she might fling him up into the air. 

Alfor tried scooting more, but his instincts caught up with him, giving a quick shot of adrenaline through his bloodstream before he fell out of the bed all together. 

He paused, letting his heart rate go down. Allura’s breathing turned soft and steady, already asleep, and still a menace.

Slowly, Alfor lifted the covers so as not to wake her, and got up out of bed. He tucked her in tight, so she wouldn’t roll any further that way and possibly fall off the bed. Blindly, she reached out, trying to find her missing warmth, but he just gave her a pillow and kissed her on the head.

Carefully, he made his way to the other side of the mattress. He and his wife always had set sides of the bed they would lie on, so it felt odd to be lying on her side, but these aren’t the kinds of things to hold to in the face of a four year old and sleep. 

He lay down on the strange pillow, and closed his eyes, counting off numbers that meant nothing in order to relax himself so that he might sleep. 

And then….a gentle nudge on his side. He opened one eye to see what happened.

In her sleep, Allura had squirmed all the way across the bed, zoning in on him like a heat-seeking missile and once again grabbing onto his pajama shirt, nuzzling him until he felt he might flip off the bed. 

Alfor sighed. It was going to be a long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based off of myself as a kid (though my mother is thankfully alive) Sorry dad. 
> 
> Also, in case you don't get the title 'eso si que es' is pronounces 's-o-c-k-s.' It is the only spanish my dad knows. Jokes on him, I just moved somewhere warmer where I can wear sandals all the time.


	43. Keith/Lance Cheating

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith vs. Lance in the pillow fight of the century.

Keith and Lance, rivals in piloting, fighting, and just being generally good at things, now stood on their knees across from each other, fully prepared to destroy the other. 

Keith narrowed his eyes, feeling out the light weapons in his hands. Lance chuckled like a cartoon villain, “You really think you’re a match for me?” He asked, going for size for his weapon rather than versatility.

Keith cricked his neck. “We’ll just have to see now, won’t we?”

With a snarl, Lance drew back with his over-large pillow, moving in to defeat his foe. Keith was faster, intercepting the blow with a quick hit to Lance’s stomach. 

In an instant, feathers were flying as the pillows whipped back and forth, nearly each shot landing on their opponent. Keith managed more hits, working fast, but Lance’s hits hit harder. At one point Lance managed to pin him to the bed, but Keith managed to scramble out of it. 

This was no movie-sorority-slumber-party pillow fight. Keith and Lance played to win, and to destroy their opponent.

Finally Keith gave up swinging the pillows back and forth, and dropped his ammunition, and instead tackled Lance down to the bed. “AHH!!!” Lance said, “That’s cheating!” he said, trying to smack him off with his pillow, but he didn’t have enough leverage.

“There are no rules in pillow-fighting,” Keith said, attempting to wrestle the large pillow away from him. 

“I feel like using pillows should be a rule in pillow fighting,” Lance argued, trying to push him off. 

Keith snarled, straddling Lance’s stomach and finally pulling the large pillow free, and smacked Lanc over and over in the face with it. “AAAUGH!” Lance said, trying to ward Keith off, “STAAAHP!”

“That using enough pillows for you?” Keith said, pausing only to line up more hits. 

Lance screwed up his face, using his legs to wrap around Keith’s waist, making him lurch forward. 

Luckily he had that obnoxiously large pillow to cushion him from hitting the wall. “Oomf!” He said.

Lance wiggled out from under him, trying to grab the pillow back in order to give Keith a taste of his own medicine. “Dammit Lance!!” Keith cried out, voice muffled by the pillow. 

“I am the pillow fight king!” Lance said, throwing his arms to the air in victory.

Keith now took advantage of Lance’s distraction to wiggle out himself. He forewent the pillows entirely, trying to wrestle Lance down to the bed. 

Both of their limbs flailed in tangles as they attempted to pin the other. It was Keith who pulled out the trump card, going in to press kisses on Lance’s cheek.

“Hey!” Lance protested, “Cheating!”

“I told you,” Keith said between kisses, “No rules in pillow fighting.”

“And I said you have to use pillows.” Lance protested. 

Keith leaned up from him, grabbing the forgotten large pillow and put it under Lance’s head. “There,” he said, and kissed his cheek more. 

Lance pouted, but allowed more kisses. 

Keith pulled the other pillows around, making a nest around them. “I still think this is cheating,” Lance said. 

Keith whined, snuggling up to him.

Lance sighed, turning his head to peck Keith on the cheek. Keith smiled. Turns out he was the winner after all.


	44. Paladins Slumber Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Each of the paladins has trouble sleeping so comes down to the Common room.

Pidge looked over their shoulder as the door opened with a ‘whoosh.’ Lance stood there in his Altean Pajamas and his robe wrapped around him. The pair stared at one another, neither of them fully calibrated to running into another person at one in the morning. “Before you lecture me,” Pidge started out, “I really tried going to sleep. I was laying down in my bed and everything for HOURS,” she said, then lay back on the couch, “I just….couldn’t.”

“Not here for a lecture,” Lance said, yawning. “I couldn’t sleep either.” 

Pidge frowned. Lance was always on him about techniques to use to get to sleep. It’s why she lended him her headphones and phone. “Is your music working?”

“Music’s fine,” Lance shrugged, “Bed’s fine, temperature’s fine, night mask is fine. Only my brain’s not fine.”

“I coulda told you that,” Pidge said, practically on instinct, and nearly hit herself for it. This was probably not a good time for light hearted jabs, but also she was very tired and her filter was gone.

Lance just grumbled at her and hopped over the back of the couch. “Scoot over. I’m hoping maybe a different setting will help the ole’ brain.”

Pidge did as asked, and soon they were lying head to head on the overlong couch. “Lance?” Pidge whispered.

“Yeah?”

“I still can’t sleep.”

Lance sighed,. “Yeah, me neither.”

They were interrupted as the door opened again. “Oh,” Keith said, walking in, “Sorry, didn’t think anyone else would be up.”

Lance shrugged and waved him over, “Come on and join the cuddle party, man. Maybe eventually one of us will sleep.”

It was a little more awkward trying to arrange three people on a couch, but with some clever manuevering, they re-arranged the common area to put two couches together, giving enough room for them to lay side by side, little Pidge in the middle. 

“Maybe if we count lions, we’ll drift off to sleep,” Lance murmured. 

“There are 5 lions, Lance,” Pidge answered. 

“Metaphorical lions,” Lance said, “You know, imaginary. Keith, you get it, right?”

“I’m with Pidge,” Keith said, “There are 5. Doesn’t take long enough to count.”

Lance sighed, “You’re both heathens.” 

A tick later, the door opened and both Shiro and Hunk stepped in. There was a brief moment where both groups stared at each other, before Lance cricked his neck “C’mon, lets re-arrange again.”

They stripped the cushions off the sofas and made an overlarge nest in the center of the room, covered in little blankets and pillows and everything they’d need to sleep.

Getting a comfortable sleeping position was a little trickier. “Hunk, you’re foot’s in my face.”

“Sorry, I’m trying not to squish Keith.”

“What do you mean, you have plenty of room.”

“No, Hunk’s right, you keep nuzzling under people.”

“I do NOT nuzzle.”

“Calm down, everyone. Keith there’s nothing wrong with nuzzling.”

“I do NOT NUZZLE!”

“Anyone who makes another noise gets their computer hacked to Kingdom Come!”

With that threat, they all settled in. 

 

In the morning, Allura and Coran tilted their heads, looking at the sight in front of them. “Is this a human thing?” Allura asked. 

Coran shrugged. “Think they’d mind if we joined?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been having trouble sleeping lately....


	45. Sven/Slav Lucky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sven convinces Slav to just go to bed already

“Yoo-hoo,” Sven called over to Slav, half asleep, “It’s time to go to bed.”

“In a bit,” Slav said, “In 41.6% of realities if I stop typing now, I will forget after I wake up.”

“That’s less than 50% chance of happening in this reality,” Sven said, trying to use logic to argue with a supergenius.

“Just because it’s less than 50% doesn’t mean it won’t happen,” Slav argued back.

“But it DOES mean it’s less likely, If I remember correctly” He said, propping himself up on his elbow. “Besides, in how many realities are you so tired you just end up writing gibberish?” 

“Gibberish is actually an established language in 22.78% of realities. Of those it is the most common language in 58.6% realities with 34 dialects in just one space zone alone.”

“Space zone?” Sven asked “Now I know you’re tired.”

“Space zones are how they define realities in 63.8 realities, a very effective unit of measurement to counteract time differentiation issues.”

Sven shook his head, not even trying to comprehend what Slav was saying at this time of night, “Look, just...just come to bed, will you? You’re clearly tired, I can see it from here.”

“What are you talking about?” Slav asked, not looking up, “I’m perfectly alert and focused on these plans I’m making, they are crucial for keeping the Guns of Gamara a secret from the Altean Empire.”

“Look at your hands.”

“What?”

“Your hands,” Sven repeated, “Your third and fourth arm down always clutch your fur when you’re tired.”

Slav looked down to see indeed, his hands had buried themselves into his fur and were making little fistfuls.

“The more tired you are, the more arms you use,” Sven said, “And you curl your tail around the table leg.”

Slav looked at his tail, which in fact, was curled around the tail leg. “I didn’t even notice,”

Sven smiled, “You’re so focused on all the possibilities, I have to focus on what you do in THIS reality,”

Slav yawned. “I suppose I am a touch drowsy…” he said, “But I really want to finish this.”

Sven grumbled, and then got out of bed, stalking over to the bright computer screens. “You’ll be able to start fresh in the morning,” he assured Slav, plucking him off his seat.

Slav yelped just slightly at suddenly not being in control of his own motions. “Do I even weigh anything to you?”

“No,” Sven assured him, “You’re like a pair of grapes.”

Slav sighed in defeat, allowing himself to be carried like an overlarge stuffed doll to the bed. 

Sven resumed his spot beside him, already nestled into the pillows. “Hey Sven,” Slav said. Sven hummed, “You know in 68% of realities, you don’t like me?”

Sven hummed again. “That’s over 50%.”

“Yes,” Slav confirmed.

Sven smiled, eyes still closed, “Lucky this isn’t one of them.”

Slav smiled in turn and went to sleep. 

 

In the morning, Sven woke up to the sound of furious clicking. “Slav?” he asked, opening one eye to see Slav back on the computer. 

“You were right!” Slav said, “In my sleep I had a dream about the proper way of finishing up this project! It will go even better than I was expecting!”

Sven smiled, “Sounds great.”

“Would you like me to show you, or--”

Sven snored, and Slav saw he had already fallen back to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: The comments on this fic are a Season 7 Spoiler FREE ZONE. NO spoilers. None, not until the season has premiered. I'm watching you.


	46. Hunk/Shay Snore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunk's been embarrassed about his snoring all his life, and is especially self conscious when girlfriend Shay stays over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW Bullying

Hunk didn’t like sleeping in the same room as other people. 

Well, no, that was a straight up lie. Hunk LOVED the idea of sleeping with other people (Not like that LANCE) but the idea of cuddling up against someone he cared for and cared for him was incredible.

Unfortunately, past experience had taught him to dread such encounters. 

He was at a sleepover as a kid, when he woke to everyone else having gone. When he went up to breakfast they all teased him for snoring “like a truck.” Hunk was already teased for being the big kid and being shy so this really was just icing on the cake. 

He hadn’t known he snored, although it made sense. His mother, his biological mother, snored loud enough to hear from all corners of the house. He was just used to it, and with a fan or something it was easy to filter out the noise.

Ever since, whenever he slept over at someone’s house, he made sure to get a space as far from everyone else as he could. It was kinda...lonely, and he missed engaging in the quiet giggles that were whispered to each other, but that was the way of things. He also waited to make sure everyone else was asleep before him, and if he could, wake up before them.

When he was older, one of the people he could rely on to cuddle with was Lance, and that was just part of what made their friendship work great. Lance used headphones to sleep no matter what, and so didn’t need to worry about Hunk’s snoring. For a while, Hunk almost forgot what it was like to have to be self-conscious about it….until Pidge joined them for a cuddle sesh. 

Hunk woke up in the middle of the night to see Pidge trying to sneak out of the room, grabbing a blanket and pillow with her and saying she was going to sleep over on the couch for the night. It was just more comfortable, she said, but even in the dim light, Hunk could see the guilt in her eyes. 

Ever since, Pidge brought ear plugs, which Hunk knew was her trying to be nice, but Hunk just felt overly guilty every time he saw them. He’d tried nose strips and all sorts of things but the strips bugged him and anything else didn’t work.

Which is why he was so incredibly nervous when his new girlfriend Shay asked if she could stay over for the night. “Just to sleep,” she made clear, “It’s just, I have work in the morning, and it would be easier to stay and get ready at your place and then head out, rather than driving home afterwards and then coming all the way back in this direction to get to my work. But if it’s not ok, I can figure something else out. I really just want to spend time with you.”

Hunk’s heart swelled, and his ever-helpful side immediately said “of course!” before he actually thought about the consequences of that. 

He thought about them later though, and madea quick trip to CVS to get the stupid icky nose strips. He wasn’t even sure how effective these were, and worse….he’d have to explain it to Shay. 

They watched movies for a while, cuddled up on the couch, until Shay said “ok, I really have to get to bed if I want to wake up on time tomorrow. Coming?”

Hunk tensed. “Yeah…” he said, “let me just….get ready and stuff in the bathroom, I have to….pee.” He could have said brush his teeth, but nope, he said pee. Really gettin this boyfriend thing down right. 

He stared at the nose strip. Maybe if he took long enough, she’d fall asleep and he wouldn’t have to put it on. “Hey Hunk,” she called from the main room, “Did you fall in?”

Hunk sighed, “Be right out,” he said. Stiffening up, he stuck the nose strip on. It felt SO icky, but he would do it. For Shay. 

He stepped out, and she instantly took stock of the strip. “Feeling congested?”

“Uh,” he said, “well...it helps me to not...snore.” He cleared his throat, embarrassed, “I tend to snore loudly, so.”

“Oh, I do too,” she said. 

“Really?”

“Oh yeah. My whole family does. Rax shakes the house. It actually helps me sleep, I can’t stand a silent house.”

He perked up, “Really?” She nodded. 

He ripped the nose strip off (ow ow ow ow ow ow ow) and tucked himself into bed with her. “You’re kinda amazing, you know that?” He said. 

She smiled. “You are too,” and kissed his temple.


	47. Nyma/Lance Coincidence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance has been avoiding Nyma, but runs into her while she's napping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Could be Platonic or Romantic

Lance froze up, walking into the common area. 

Nyma was there, curled up on the couch as relaxed as could be, taking a nap. 

Lance shouldn’t have been surprised, really. They were meeting up with the rebels, who gave them shelter and supplies since they’d lost their ship. Lance knew that Nyma and Rolo and Beezus were among them. Knew that they’d helped Matt and Pidge attempt to save their father. Knew they were pretty squarely in the ‘good guy’ column now. 

Still, he hadn’t seen them in person since he was chained to a cactus, watching Nyma grapple up to her ship as they stole the blue lion. 

And now, here she was, just curled up, all innocent, like nothing had happened. 

It’s not like Lance had been avoiding her. Ok, yeah, he totally was, and up until this point it had been easy. 

He didn’t know what to say to her. What do you say to someone who manipulated you, practically seduced you, and then robbed you and humiliated you?

Nyma turned in her sleep, and for a moment, Lance thought she was waking up. Turns out she was just readjusting. 

Did she think about him? Did she feel guilty? Was any of what she said real, or was he just an easy stupid target? 

He knew he had a reputation to flirt with anything that moves, but that didn’t mean he didn’t earnestly like all of them. Including Nyma. And she’d been one of the first people who actually expressed any interest in liking him BACK. So he thought, anyway. Once her plans had been revealed, it had been a huge blow to his self esteem, which was not as high as other people might have thought. 

He never said how much the incident had hurt him. Mostly because any time it came up, it was used an example of how stupid Lance was. It was exhibit A of why Lance wasn’t good enough to be a paladin. 

Would he forgive her? Could he? Was she avoiding him too? Could they ever move past their horrible, horrible first encounter and maybe even be friends?

As if fate was listening to his thoughts, his foot shifted causing a terrible metal squeak in the floor below. Like he was trapped in a horror film, he watched her eyes blink open, bright purple orbs focusing in on him. “Lance?”

“Uh,” He said, “I was just...passing through. Thought I’d grab a snack, you know,” He turned towards the kitchen and started walking, picking up speed, like the kitchen door was the light at the end of the tunnel. 

“Wait,” She called after him, making him freeze in his tracks. “How, um, how have you been?”

“How have I--” He couldn’t believe her. Talking like they were old friends who’d fallen out of touch. “Saving the universe, what about you?”

“Same,” She said, and he saw in his peripherals her sit up, “Well, recently anyway.” 

Lance grimaced. Don’t be charmed, don’t be charmed, he repeated to himself. “Well. Good chat.”

He stepped forward again, but she blurted out “I’m sorry,” getting him to pause again, “for what happened. I really am. I wish I could explain how desperate we were, the dark place we’d gone to that had us betraying the people we should have been helping. The universe was a terrible place before Voltron.”

Lance gritted his teeth. He wanted to have sympathy for her. He had seen what the universe had done to good people, or people who would have been good people. But… “Was it because you thought I was stupid?” He asked, “Just...too gullible?”

“No!” She protested.

“Because I’m not,” he went on, “I don’t just throw everything away for a pretty face, I’m not...I’m loyal to Voltron, I--”

“Lance, I’m a con artist,” She said, “It’s what I do for a living, not going for stupid people, just people. And if it wasn’t you, Beezer was working on Pidge, and Rolo was working on Shiro. I just happened to work fastest.”

He swallowed, imagining having to go rescue the black or green lions, Pidge or Shiro trapped in a tree. Oddly, he was glad it turned out to be him. He wouldn’t want them hurt like that. “So...it was just coincidence that it was me.”

“Not ‘just’,” Nyma said, approaching him. “You are very cute.” Lance’s heart should not have swelled as it did. “Do you….do you mind if I come with you to the kitchen? So we can talk this out?

Lance smiled, “Sure.”


	48. Matt & Pidge Snot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge is happy to have her brother back
> 
> Platonic only

The Holts were a happy family. Always had been. Like, sitcom-level happy. Pidge hadn’t realized how really rare that was until she got older. They were the kind of happy Pidge didn’t like to talk about around other people because it would make them feel bad (although honestly she was just ready to adopt her friends. Like. Keith get over here, you’re a new brother now.) 

Everything changed when Matt and her father left for the Kerberos mission. Pidge had dreams that one day she’d be old enough to pilot their missions, instead of that Takashi Shirogane guy. 

And then, they were just….gone.

The Holt Family wasn’t happy anymore, they were...broken. Colleen wandered like a ghost from task to task, keeping the house together, dinner on the table, making sure Katie stayed in school. 

Pidge was determined she would fix it. 

A Hop, Skip, and Unexpected Space War later, and she found Matt. She couldn’t hide how excited she had been, showing her brother around, showing him what she’d DONE here, as a savior to the universe. As the youngest, the others tended to treat her like she was an adorable little kid, but as a technical genius with a vengeful side, they gave her the proper respect. 

Coran gave Matt a room to stay in on his own in the castle while he was there, though he made clear he was planning on going back to his listening station to help the rebels. A little bit of Pidge’s happy mood went away.

She lay back in her bed, surrounded by junk, a smile on her face. She did it. She’d done what she came to space and the Garrison to do. Matt was safe. He was alive. They were ok. 

It was about two ticks later she gave up, sneaking through the halls to make it to Matt’s room. “Matt?” she whispered.

“Katie?” He whispered back, “What’s up, what’s going on?”

And she didn’t know why, but for some reason, that was what broke her. She started sniffling, and ran forward like she had when she was very tiny and needed her big brother to take care of her. 

“Whoa, hey,” He said as she tossed herself onto the bed, “Hey, it’s ok, it’s ok. I’m right here.”

She sobs, clutching his shirt like he’d slip through her fingers. Only now did she realize how scared she’d been that she’d lost him, that she’d never ever see him again. “I was...I was so scared,” She sobbed, “I missed you, I--I--” 

“I know,” He said clutching her close, “I’m so sorry. I missed you too.”

“I’ve been--” She stammered, “I’ve been working so hard...I didn’t let myself give up hope, I couldn’t--”

“I know, Katie,” He said, massaging comforting circles into her back, “You’ve been so strong, Katie. You ARE so strong. Stronger than you should have had to be.”

She sniffs, knowing she’s getting snot on his shirt. “I miss Dad,” She says, “I miss MOM, I--I didn’t tell her where I was going and...I feel so bad--” 

“Hey, hey,” He says, “We’ll find Dad. We’ll get back to Mom. I promise.”

She holds onto him. “Can I stay here?” she asked.

He nodded, “Yeah,” He said, holding her, “Yeah of course.”

She curled around him. “Your elbow’s still pointy.” 

“What?” He said, “No, I’ve totally filled out.”

“You’re a skinny twig.” She snarked, wiping her eyes on him. 

“And you’re a dwarf,” He said, “AND a snot factory. Don’t see me whining about it.”

She chuckled. She really did have her brother back.


	49. Lance/Allura Sharing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Allura move in together, not even considering how their highly different sleeping habits might play into things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm baaaaaaaack
> 
> I was actually being productive the last few days but NOT TODAY because I stayed up too late so decided might as well write something

Allura was an only child, and a rather spoiled one at that. Not that she was mean or selfish. Quite the opposite, she prided herself on her kindness and generosity. 

Still, she was rarely wanting for things in her life, and she rarely had to share, especially her room, and her bed.

Lance, on the other hand, was very accustomed to sharing everything he had, and also taking what he needed, sometimes aggressively.

These two behaviors clashed against one another in sleep-disturbing ways. 

For instance, now that Lance had moved in with Allura, Allura was at first glad to have him with her. They snuggled up close, exchanging smiles and lazy kisses as they closed their eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.

Allura didn’t really know this about herself, because no one had been around to tell her, but she was a roller in her sleep. She shifted around, snuggling into the mattress as best as she could, finding the absolute optimal sleeping position. 

As her bed was normally empty except for herself, her unconscious mind had no problem stretching and rolling subtly towards the middle and breaching over onto Lance’s side of the bed. 

Lance’s unconscious mind, meanwhile, was trying to stay as still as possible. He flinched a little as Allura’s hand wandered over to his face, turning away. Allura’s hand was persistent, though, heading up to his nose. 

Lance woke up slightly to feel the foreign hand smacking him in the face, not fully processing what was happening or remembering where he was. Too tired to fight back properly, he just moved Allura’s arm up and out of the way, before quickly drifting back to sleep, forgetting he’d even woken in the first place. 

Allura wasn’t done though. 

In her subconscious, Allura found the body lying beside her and processed it as a nice warm pillow. She always did tend to run a bit cold, and slowly she worked her way over to wrap around the nice pseudo-hot water bottle.

Her toes, however, were almost always freezing, so the second she lay her frozen feet along Lance’s legs to warm them up, Lance was on the defensive. 

On pure instinct, Lance shoved with both arms and legs at Allura’s form, keeping the offending toe-sicles away from him. Allura wasn’t his siblings, though, squirming and fighting to stay in place. Instead, her over-relaxed position allowed her to be flung across the bed, tumbling to the floor with an “Oomph!”

That finally woke them both up. Lance blinked away sleep as best he could, adjusting to his surroundings and noting the empty side of the bed beside him. “Allura?” he asked. 

Allura sat up, exhausted and snarling. “What the fuck?!”

Lance fought a yawn that felt inappropriate as his girlfriend was mad at him, “What’s going on? What happened?”

“You pushed me out of bed!” She said, climbing back up and under the sheets. 

“I did?” He asked, “I’m sorry, ‘Lura, didn’t mean to.” He yawned again. “I won’t do it again, lets go back to sleep.”

Grumbling Allura followed his direction, turning distinctly away from him. Soon, though, she relaxed and followed him to an easy sleep. 

In a way, Lance was right, he didn’t do it again. 

This time, when Allura pushed forward into the wide expanse of bed, her hands and feet slithered under Lance’s body, slowly making a wedge.

Then, all at once, the wedge was too big, and Lance tipped over the edge. 

Lance groaned, picking himself up from the floor, rubbing his head from the ache of sleep and ache of hitting it, not to mention the rush of adrenaline at the sudden falling sensation. 

He looked up, and noted Allua had not woken up alongside him, but rather was comfortably resting in the dead center of the bed, long hair draped around her and selfishly hogging all the pillows to herself.

Lance sighed. “I wonder if they make a size bed bigger than King…."


	50. Keith & Shiro White Noise Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith has trouble sleeping at the Garrison, and so goes to Shiro for help. 
> 
> Platonic Only

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can see this is a part 1, part 2 will be the next one, hopefully tomorrow.

Keith padded silently along the abandoned Garrison hallway. The lights were still on and officers about every once in a while, on late night patrol, but they were all tired and not looking for a bratty 12 year old wandering the hall. 

Keith was an expert at getting around silently, much to his foster home’s chagrin. More often than not they’d end up going out to the remains of Keith’s childhood home, or rather the shack beside it, because Keith had run out yet again in the middle of the night. At first they’d been sympathetic, comforting. That died very after the 5th time, where he was gone and made his foster mother late for work. 

He couldn’t make his way back home from the Garrison, though. Not that he couldn’t make it past their shity security system like the other kids did when they wanted to go into town past curfew. No, it was simply a matter of distance. By the time he got there it’d probably be morning already, and the Garrison wouldn’t come get him, they’d just expel him. 

He promised he would try not to get expelled. 

Still, he was filled with a nervous energy that didn’t allow him to sit idly in his room and wait for sleep to overcome him. His Dad used to say he had wild energy in his blood, like a wild coyote, prowling the desert lands. Keith had climbed on top of his shoulders and howled, and despite the fact it was past his son’s bedtime, his Dad laughed, and Keith laughed with him. 

Keith didn’t laugh much anymore. But the wild energy hadn’t gone away, so here he was, prowling through the civilized Garrison like a coyote on the hunt. 

He made his way to the officers’ quarters. The rooms were all bigger than the cadet’s quarters, more space to cover between the intervening doors. He’d been here once, which hopefully got him in the right area, but honestly these hallways all looked the same. How did anyone get anywhere?

He read the name plates outside the door. Jacobson, Khatri, Vasiliev, Holt, Gonzalez, Lee, Azikewe…..Shirogane!

He knocked softly, not wanting to alert the attention of anyone he didn’t want. That was too soft for Shio to hear, apparently, so he jumped to his next course of action, rapping repeatedly on the door, increasing intensity until it was rocking on its slider. 

“What, What!” Shiro said, opening the door, rubbing his eye with the palm of his hand. “Keith? What’s going on? Are you in trouble?” 

Keith swallowed. “I couldn’t sleep,” He said. He said them as confidently and seriously as he could, but even he heard how childish the words sounded. 

Shiro blinked at him, trying to decipher if he heard what he thought he heard. “You couldn’t…” Keith stood firm, staring up at Shiro with his usual stubbornness. Sometimes people gave in as long as they knew you weren’t going to. “Come on in,” Shiro said. Success!

Keith padded in after Shiro, taking a place on the chair inside. Shiro stretched and yawned, collapsing back on his bed, visibly fighting the urge to lay down and return to slumber. “Alright, why can’t you sleep?” 

“It’s too quiet,” Keith said, using his best logical voice and not the whiny voice. “It makes my ears ring, which makes me restless which means I can’t sleep.” It also made him feel incredibly alone, but he didn’t mention that.

Shiro nodded slowly. “So you decided to make sure I couldn’t either?” he said. 

Keith swallowed, feeling guilty. “Can I stay here? I’ll sleep on the chair and I’ll let you sleep.”

Shiro sighed leaning back. “Kid, it’s not appropriate for cadets to sleep in the same room as officers. I’m sorry, that’s just the way it is.”

Keith bowed his head. Oh, right. That made sense. It made Keith feel stupid but it made sense.

Shiro leaned over and started digging through his nightstand drawer, swearing under his breath. “Here,” he said, pulling out a round white electrical device attached to a cord. “It’s a white noise machine. The default is static, but it’s got some other options, like the ocean, bugs, even people talking. To me that just sounds like weird cryptic chanting, but I’m not judging.” 

He handed the device over to Keith. Keith held it close to his chest, making Shiro smile. “Come on, I’ll take you back to your room, make sure you don’t get caught.”

Shiro stretched, putting a hand on Keith’s back as he guided him down the long hallways again, this time not caring for being sneaky. He still gave Keith a hug and a hair shuffle when he got to his room. 

Inside, Keith turned the machine to the ‘bugs’ setting. It sounded like he was out, back by the desert, with the insects finally awake at night. He smiled, closed his eyes, and rested.


	51. Keith & Shiro White Noise Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith has rescued Shiro from the Garrison, taking him and the three strange students back to the shack he called home. 
> 
> Platonic Only

Once again, Keith sat in a chair by Shiro’s bedside, but no longer were they nice and safe at the Garrison. Keith hadn’t been there in a year. Shiro hadn’t in longer. 

Keith turned his head at the sound of a particularly large snore. That was probably the large one, who called himself ‘Hunk.’ Hunk apparently remembered him too, just like the loud one, Lance. At least he was pretty sure he’d never met the short one. He wasn’t happy they were all here, but set them up with some spare pillows and blankets in the living room. It couldn’t be comfortable, but it sounded like at least one of them had gotten to sleep. 

Keith couldn’t sleep. He had mourned Shiro for a year, throwing himself into his new journey, his goal of finding the mysterious blue lion. He never expected his journey would take him to finding his old mentor and friend, nor had any idea that Shiro could be here, just, sleeping in his bed. 

He was different. Whatever had happened to him had not been kind, taking his arm, a chunk of his nose, and the pigment from his hair. He looked like he’d aged 10 years instead of 1. Keith watched him breathing in and out. 

Shiro twitched, and Keith sat up. As the Garrison drugs wore off his sleep grew more and more restless. He flinched and groaned. It looked like he was in pain. 

Hesitant, Keith reached over to him. “Shiro?” he whispered, “Shiro, it’s ok.”

Shiro’s eyes blinked open and his metal arm wrapped around Keith’s throat. Keith choked, the wind knocked out of him, “Sh--” he tried to say, “Shiro-” he breathed, feeling light headed. 

“Kei--” Shiro said, eyes finally focusing. His hand released him and Keith gasped for breath. “Keith, how--where am I--what happened--”

“It’s ok,” Keith said, rubbing his neck. “This is my Dad’s old shack. You remember, I brought you here once.”

Shiro took shuddered breaths, his whole body shaking as he sat up. He blinked noting his surroundings. “I was...the Garrison found me. Strapped me to a table.”

“I know,” Keith said, “I got you out of there. It’s ok.” He could have mentioned the other three who helped, but he would have gotten Shiro out either way. Besides he didn’t want to explain too much right now. “They won’t look for you here. You’re safe.” 

Shiro shook his head, “No...no they’re coming,” he said, breathing quickly, “Galra, they’re coming--”

“Hey, hey,” Keith said, putting a hand through Shiro’s hair, the way Shiro often did for him. “We’ll deal with it in the morning, ok?” He didn’t know who or what a ‘Galra’ was, but that wasn’t the priority right now. “Get some sleep, you need rest.”

Gently, Keith pushed him back until he lay back again. Shiro swallowed, reluctantly relaxing under Keith’s hands, but still he shook. Keith never thought of Shiro as ‘scared.’ It didn’t seem possible. “Did I hurt you?” Shiro said, eyeing his neck. 

“No,” Keith lied, “No, of course not.” He stood up, trying to make arrange the blankets, tucking Shiro in like a child. 

“You’ve grown,” Shiro said, looking up at him. 

Keith smirked. “Not much,” he argued back.

“The jacket,” Shiro said, “It’s getting too small on you.”

“It fits just fine,” Keith said, “Stop trying to get me to get rid of it.”

Shiro huffed something that might have been a laugh. “I see you haven’t--” He gasped another breath, “haven’t changed much.”

Keith bit the inside of his cheek, not ready quite yet to show Shiro exactly how much he had changed. He often wondered if Shiro would be disappointed in him for how he had handled things. He didn’t think he’d get the chance to actually find out. “Get some sleep, Shiro.”

Shiro closed his eyes, but Keith could tell he wasn’t asleep, and barely trying. Sighing, he reached over to his night stand, to the white noise machine Shiro had given him all those years ago. He never slept without it. 

He switched it on for the room to be filled with the sound of bugs, his usual setting. He switched it, watching Shiro’s face, shadowed in the dark, for signs he might actually relax. First he tried the basic static, then the ocean, then wind, and finally people talking. The voices were too hushed and muffled to make any words out, but it sounded like they were in a crowded area, full of people. 

For whatever reason, that was the setting that got Shiro to relax. Keith watched him, until he was decently sure Shiro was asleep, before lying on the floor beside him.


	52. Keith/Lance/Hunk Spoon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Are you a Big Spoon or a Little Spoon"
> 
> "I'm a Knife"
> 
> "He's a little spoon!"

“So,” Hunk said, as he and Keith waited in the bedroom for Lance to be done with his nightly routine, “Do you want to be the big spoon or the little spoon?”

Keith blinked at him, overly tense. “I’m a knife.” He responded.

“He’s a little spoon!” Lance called from the bathroom. 

Keith glared at him through the door. Lance had been dating both Hunk and Keith for a while now (with their knowledge, of course, communication was everything) but only recently did Hunk and Keith start dating each other as well, having them form a nice little triad. 

The thing with polyamory is that it involved a LOT of communication. Like a lot of it. Lance was pretty good about it, having multiple partners over the years, some in long-term relationships like Hunk and Keith, some just short little one night stands. Keith had started as a one night stand, although they’d already been friends, until they started dating. Keith knew Lance was dating Hunk but that Hunk didn’t really date around as much, though it happened occasionally. 

While Keith had eventually been ok with dating someone who was dating someone else, though it felt weird at the time, he never imagined dating more than one person himself. He had ended up really caring for Hunk’s kind personality, even when he was being anxious.

Still, like mentioned earlier, polyamory involved a lot of communication. And Keith….wasn’t always good with communication. 

Oh fucking hell he was going to screw this up so badly. 

Hunk patted the bed next to him. “It’s ok. Honestly I like being little spoon too sometimes. It’s nice, it feels safe, you know?” Keith bit his lip, nodding slowly. “C’mere.”

Slowly, Keith climbed onto the bed. He lay on his back, stiff and awkward. Huh. He really was a knife. 

A thought occurred to him. “Do YOU want to be little spoon?” he asked Hunk, suddenly concerned that the mention was actually a request from Keith.

Hunk chuckled, “Honestly I’m fine with either. I just like cuddling.”

Keith nodded slowly. “Me too. Sometimes.”

Hunk scooted closer to him on the bed. “Is...now one of those times? I’ve been told I’m a really good hugger.” 

Keith swallowed thinking for a second. “Yeah, sure.”

He closed his eyes, waiting for the hug, but it didn’t come. He opened one eye, seeing Hunk patiently waiting and watching. “You’re allowed to say ‘no’ you know,” Hunk said, “I won’t do ANYTHING to make you uncomfortable. Lance can be in the middle of us if that would be easier.”

Keith smiled at him, letting out a short chuckle. Hunk tilted his head. “Sorry, I’m just. I was trying to cover up how nervous I was, and that made it worse and….” he shook his head. Okay, open communication. He could do this. “I’m not uncomfortable with you, Hunk. Not really.” He swallowed, trying to keep his throat from going dry as he talked. “I just...I’m worried about screwing up.”

Hunk smiled “I get it. I was nervous too, honestly. But, and I hope this isn’t too forward to say, but I really like you.”

Keith blushed. “I like you too.” 

Hunk opened up his arms. Biting his lip, Keith curled into him, letting his back rest against Hunk’s chest. He was instantly encapsulated with warmth, and he hummed quietly, hugging Hunk’s arms to himself. Hunk wasn’t kidding. He was an amazing hugger. 

“Oh, sweet, cuddle party!” Lance said, coming out of the bathroom. He jumped on the bed, making it bounce and turning Keith’s hum of contentment into a groan of annoyance. 

Keith felt Lance’s arm wiggle in between himself and Hunk as he spooned Hunk from the other side. “Jeeeet paack,” he whispered, cuddled up against Hunk’s back. 

Hunk just chuckled, turning his head so Lance could peck him on the lips. Hunk then turned back, nuzzling Keith’s hair until Keith turned his own head, letting Hunk pecked him on the lips as well. 

Lance climbed over Hunk, in a way that just COULDN’T be comfortable for either of them, until Lance was at an angle to kiss Keith as well. Finally, they all settled in so they could relax.


	53. Lance/Lotor Depend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lotor is sick with a cold and is the worst patient ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this is in my Human AU for these guys, Lotor's a fashion student. *shrug emoji* I'm tired

Lance knew he wasn’t the best of patients. His mother always told him to stop whining and just rest. 

He never before wanted more for his mother to meet his new boyfriend, just so she could see the absolute mess he became when he was sick. Then maybe she could have some perspective about his own childhood colds. 

Then again she might just call it karma. Nevermind, bad idea. 

“Would you just sit down?” Lance demanded, hopelessly pulling on his arm. Why must he date a goddamn tree. “Sit! Sit! You’re going to knock yourself unconscious and then you’ll hit your head and then I’ll be treating you on the floor.”

Lotor sniffed dramatically, forcing the snot not to drip out of his nose. “I’m fine,” he said, voice clogged up, as he still tried to measure the garment he was working on. 

Lance sighed. “You’re clearly not.” Lance said. Lotor ignored him. “Babe. Sweetheart. Dumbass. Lay down and let me take care of you.”

Lotor grumbled. “I have things to do.” 

“Lemme...oh, hold on,” Lance went searching through his pockets, “Oh, nope, all out of fucks to give, sorry.” 

Lotor glared at him from watery red-rimmed eyes. “Lance…”

“Babe, the more you work, the sicker you’ll get.” Lance said, “Just lay down, rest, take CARE of yourself for more than 2 seconds, and soon enough, you’ll be all better and can re-imagine the fashion world in orange and dark greys.”

Lotor groaned, but then he sneezed and wobbled where he stood. Lance took his arm to steady him and, reluctantly, he allowed Lance to guide him over to his bed.

“Now, you sit here,” Lance said, putting a cup of orange juice by his bedside, “Drink that, I’ll make you some soup.”

“I can get it,” Lotor said, getting up. 

“Ahbubububuh” Lance said, pushing him back. “REST. See if you can nap. I’ve got tissues here, get that snot out of your nose and try to clear those nasal passages, you’ll breath better.”

Lotor groaned again, but reached for the tissue. Satisfied, Lance turned away and went to make the soup.

When he returned, Lotor had apparently taken the garment off the mannequin, and brought it to his bed to work on stitching. Lance sighed, putting the soup down and snatching the fabric out of his hand. “I’m in bed!” Lotor protested. 

“You need REST.” Lance said, “Save your energy so you can put it towards feeling better.” 

Lotor grumbled under his breath. Lance ignored the muffled insults as he set up the soup for Lotor to eat. “Here,” he said, “Just eat up, and then you can nap.”

“I don’t need a nap.” Lotor protested sharply.

Lance sat on the bed beside him, reaching up to stroke Lotor’s head, making his eyelids droop. “What’s going on, babe?” He said, “Why is it so hard for you to want to care for yourself?”

“I can take care of myself fine,” he said, grumpy. “It’s just...I don’t like just sitting around. I need to DO something. I feel so…” He swallowed, “Useless.” 

Lance continued stroking his head. “You’re not useless. But you’re also not invincible. Everyone gets sick sometimes, and the only thing to do is help yourself feel better. And I’m here to help!”

Lotor smirked. “No offense to you, love, but I’m not really used to the idea of being dependent on anyone. It goes against my nature.”

“Mmm,” Lance hummed. “Well, get your nature used to it. Because I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere. You can depend on me.”

Lotor ate more of his soup. “Ok. I’ll….try.”

“Do, or do not.” Lance said, “There is no try.” Lotor tilted his head at him. “We gotta catch you up on pop culture babe. Luckily, being sick in bed is the perfect time to do it!”

“Oh, oh no,” Lotor said, over dramatically, putting the soup safely aside, “I feel a nap coming, I had best rest this away.”

Lance scoffed, but tucked Lotor in. “Chicken.”


	54. Hunk/Lance Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At the Garrison, Hunk's anxiety prevents him going to sleep, so he asks Lance for help

Hunk stared up at the ceiling, listening to the sounds of his roommate sleep. He and Lance had gotten along really well, (not to mention the crush Hunk had on him, but that wasn’t relevant) but now here Hunk was….scared out of his mind, thoughts racing as he stared up at his ceiling. 

“Lance?” He whispered into the dark, “Lance, are you awake?”

Lance groaned, turning his head a few times to force movement. “Wha sup?” he slurred, barely understandable.

Hunk swallowed, guilty for waking him up, but also… “I’m scared.”

Lance turned over on his side, eyes squinting in the dark. “Bad dream?”

“No,” Hunk said. That would have required him having actually fallen asleep, “I just. I can’t stop thinking about things, and I get scared.”

Lance yawned, trying to wake himself up. “Scared of what?”

Hunk gulped, unsure how to condense all his thoughts into words. “Everything.” 

Lance snorted. “You can’t be scared of EVERYTHING,” he said, “You scared of big fluffy clouds?”

Hunk chuckled slightly, “No, I guess not,” He was scared of flying up into them, but he knew the clouds themselves were safe. It was what was beyond them. 

“You scared….” Lance yawned as he paused to think, “of itty bitty bunny rabbits?”

Hunk’s chuckle grew stronger. “No.”

“You should be,” Lance said, “Rabbits can be scary as heck. Didn’t you ever watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail?”

“A while ago,” Hunk said, “I don’t remember it much.”

Lance squeaked a noise of offense. “Next movie watching party, then.” Hunk sighed, but hummed his assent, “So, more specifically, what are you scared of?”

Hunk gulped, reminded of his fear. “I guess….flying,” he said.

Lance paused for so long, Hunk thought he fell asleep. “Hunk,” he finally said, “This is the Garrison. The whole point is flying.”

“I know!” Hunk said, lip wobbling, “But I just...I was always more interested in the engines and doing stuff with that I thought it’d conquer my fear. But the other day we learned about maintenance and everything that can go wrong, and just….I know how to do things safely, but sometimes there’s just nothing to do, sometimes people just….die! And I don’t know what to do about that.”

Lance yawned again. “Look, my buddy, my dude, yeah, there are some things that are going to be out of your control. And that….sucks. But you gotta focus on what you CAN control. Like, thats why you’re learning the maintenance stuff right? So you can know what to look out for.”

Hunk chewed on his lower lip. “You want to know something really scary?” Lance asked, “I was having a dream that my illegal yacht operation got found out and I had to go to jail, but then I got out and got to return to my wife and kids, but THEN they found out about my SECOND yacht and I had to go back and got sucked into a terrible conspiracy and was trying to save this dude who had a crush on my cellmate and the warden was trying to kill him and just kept messing with me.”

Hunk blinked. He scoffed at the ridiculousness of the situation. “You had TWO illegal yacht operations?” 

“Yup,” Lance said, hugging his pillow, eyes drooping, “They didn’t find out about the third one, though. I had that stored away in foreign islands.” 

Hunk smiled. “Well. Good thing I don’t have an illegal yacht operation.”

“See?” Lance said, “One less thing to worry about.”

Lance yawned and closed his eyes. Hunk did feel better, but he still felt his fears creeping up on him. “Hey,” Lance whispered through the dark, “You wanna push our beds up together into one big bed? That’s something my siblings and I would do back home sometimes if we couldn’t sleep.”

“Oh,” Hunk said, a new fear popping up of sleeping directly next to his crush instead of across the room, “Sure,” he said, stupidly. 

It took effort, especially with the both of them so tired, but they got their beds together. Hunk smiled to himself as they both relaxed back into the covers. He was still scared, but maybe with Lance, he had less to be scared about.


	55. Thace/Ulaz Shoodles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thace and Ulaz struggle with parenthood

In unison, the two fully grown men collapsed on the bed, face down, clothes still on. 

It wasn’t like they had been out all day. They hadn’t left the house. It wasn’t as though they’d been working hard at their jobs or cleaning or maybe even something fun. No. All they had done was manage to get a 6 year old child into bed.

“When does school start up again?” Thace asked, mumbling through his pillow.

“Not for another month,” Ulaz said,who had at least managed to turn his head to the side. “Oh shoodles, that reminds me, we have to go back to school shopping this week.”

Thace frowned, turning to his husband, “Shoodles?”

Ulaz groaned. “I’ve been avoiding swearing all day, this is how I’m wired now.” He nuzzled into his pillow. “I have worked 16 hour shifts at the hospital. Nothing has made me more tired than chasing Keith around the house.”

“He’s like the energizer bunny!” Thace agreed, “I feel like we should call someone, like, Nasa or something. If they figure out how to bottle his energy we could completely change the effects of global warming.”

Ulaz snorted, “I think turning your child over to the government breaks some parenting laws,” he said, “Not to mention it’s the thing we were specifically trying to avoid.”

Thace groaned in agreement. They hadn’t heard from their old friend Krolia in a long time, but when they did, it wasn’t from her. It was from her boyfriend, saying he was in the hospital and the doctors weren’t sure if he’d make it, and could they please find Krolia so she could care for their son. 

The two men had been unsuccessful in tracking down Krolia, but they weren’t about to let the kid go to foster care, and so they’d adopted him themselves, with the idea that they would hand him back over to his mother once she returned. 

After a year, now, Thace and Ulaz had come to think of Keith as their son. Thace didn’t say it out loud, but he had plans to fight Krolia, possibly physically, if she ever did come back for leaving her poor son all alone. Ulaz had guessed Thace’s plans, and while he had no intention of fighting himself, he would gladly stand aside and treat any of Thace’s wounds he might receive. 

“Remember when we were young?” Thace asked, “Going out all night, partying til dawn, and still able to work the next day? What happened to that?”

“You never partied til dawn,” Ulaz mumbled. 

“I did close enough,” Thace said. 

“We had a kid is what happened,” Ulaz said, adjusting his position on the bed to try and be more comfortable. “I’m pretty sure all that energy he has he sucked out of us. Like a vampire. A tiny energy vampire.”

“Mm, good theory,” Thace said, “But if he’s a vampire, shouldn’t he want to avoid going in the sun?”

They’d taken Keith out to the park that day, in the hopes he’d run out some of his energy. They loved Keith dearly, but he was a wild child. Maybe a bit quiet ever since his Dad passed away, and somewhat clingy on Ulaz and Thace, as though they’d disappear if he wasn’t looking, but presented with outdoors to roam around, and he was off like a shot. Thace had tried to teach him some basic sports until the man was on the ground panting, and decided instead to have Keith play the game, “See how fast you can run between those two trees” in the hopes of tiring him out. 

A Knock came on their bedroom door. Both men froze like Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic park, being faced with a T-Rex. “Uncle Thace? Uncle Ulaz?” Keith’s little voice said, “Can I have a glass of water?”

Ulaz and Thace stared at each other in fear, neither of them sure their legs even worked properly anymore to carry them to the kitchen. Silently, Thace raised his fist. Ulaz sighed and raised his own, and they played a quick game of ‘rock paper scissors.’ Ulaz lost, because he was a lot more predictable than he thought. 

Sighing, Ulaz plucked himself off the bed. “Alright, come on Keith,” he said, putting a hand on Keith’s head to guide him into the kitchen. 

When he returned to the bedroom, ready to collapse again, Thace had already fallen asleep, snuggling Ulaz’s pillow close to him. 

On another day, Ulaz might have found this sweet. This is not one of those days. He yanked the pillow out of Thace’s hold, wacked him over the head with it, before collapsing and falling asleep, finally.


	56. Acxa/Ezor(&Friends) Closet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Acxa has a final to study for, but Ezor is just trying to take care of her. Acxa will go to any measures to stay awake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> College AU

“Babe, I CANNOT believe you’re making me be the responsible one here. It’s cruel. And wrong. Very wrong.”

Acxa wasn’t totally listening to Ezor’s outburst, as proved my her small “mmhmm,” as her eyes scanned through the computer document like a robot absorbing data.

“Babe,” Ezor said, trying to insert herself between Axca and the laptop, but Axca moved robotically to keep her eyes super-glued to the text, “Hun, it’s 1 am.” 

“‘Snot that late,” Acxa muttered, like she was in a trance. 

“Maybe not,” Ezor said, “But you have your final tomorrow morning, which means you need to be well rested.”

Acxa typed some notes out on her laptop, “It means that I REALLY need to finish this.” she said, voice finally growing louder, but not sounding any more human. More like an android that had lost the capacity for emotion. 

Ezor sighed dramatically. “Babe.” She attempted to forcefully close the computer, but Acxa grabbed her wrist one handed, squeezing until it felt like it might break. Ok, maybe she WAS an android. “Ow, ow, ow, Acxa, let go, ow, ow, holy fuck ACXA!”

Acxa released her and she fell back. “You can go to bed if you want to,” Acxa said, as though nothing had just happened. 

“I COULD,” Ezor said, “But I am attempting to be a good girlfriend considering I’m done with my finals.” 

Finally, Acxa looked up, fixing Ezor with a death glare that made Ezor very randomly grateful that people didn’t have laser vision. “I just need to finish this, and then I’ll sleep,” She said.

“That’s what you said at midnight,” Ezor said, “Come on, up and at ‘em. Bed’s like 2 feet away, you can make it.” Acxa yawned, proving she was indeed, human. “There, see? I knew you were tired.”

“I’m fine,” She mumbled, “I just need more coffee.” She went to take a sip from her mug, only to note that it was empty, save a few bitter remnants. “Babe….can you--”

“Nope, not happening,” Ezor said, “I couldn’t even if I wanted to, you drank all the coffee we have. How your bladder hasn’t exploded I’ll never know. And there are no coffee shops open anymore.” Ezor crossed her arms, proud, “Guess you’ll have to turn in after all.”

Acxa narrowed her eyes, never one to be defeated. “No,” She muttered to herself, looking around, “No, I can do this. I can--” 

Her eyes latched onto her new salvation. Closing her laptop and tucking it under her arm, she made her way over to the closet. “Babe, what are you doing?” Acxa grabbed the top of the closet door, using her dresser to help pull her up. “Babe! You’re gonna break your skull!” 

“No. I’m. not.” She said, settling on top of the closet door. “There. Now, the adrenaline of keeping myself up will keep me awake. There’s no way I can get comfortable up here, so I won’t fall asleep.”

“Babe, I’M usually the one with the really terrible ideas!” Ezor whined, “You’re throwing off our entire relationship dynamic!”

“Go to bed,” Acxa said, “I’ll join you soon, I PROMISE.”

 

The next morning, Ezor was gathered around the closet door with her friends Lotor, Zethrid, and Narti, all looking up at Acxa, who, despite all odds, had fallen asleep on top of the closet door. Well, Narti wasn’t looking, she was just leaning against the wall after they’d described what was happening to her. 

“If we wake her,” Lotor said, “She could fall and seriously hurt herself.”

“If we DON’T wake her,” Ezor added, “And she misses her final, she’ll hurt all of us.”

Carefully, they removed the laptop precariously balanced on Acxa’s lap. Then, they pulled the mattress off the bed and put it under the door. Zethrid stood on the mattress, ready to catch her if she fell forward, while Lotor went into the closet, (which they all couldn’t help making jokes about) as Narti and Ezor held the door steady. 

“Alright, here goes,” Ezor said, drawing a breath, “BABE YOU GOTTA WAKE UP YOUR FINALS IN AN HOUR!” 

“Wha--WHAT THE FU--AAAA!!!!!!” Acxa tumbled forward off the door and into Zethrid’s arms. 

“Oh good, you’re awake,” Ezor said, smiling at her, “Now please don’t kill us, and also file this day into your memory as ‘the day I should have listened to my girlfriend.’”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on a story my dad told me about a guy in his college.


	57. Keith/Hunk Marshmallows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith has a nightmare, Hunk is ready to help.

Keith woke suddenly. He didn’t jerk up, didn’t even snap his eyelids open. To someone watching, he might have seemed like he just woke up naturally. But Keith knew he didn’t. 

He lifted his head just slightly, the skin around his eyes feeling tight. He rubbed them, feeling dried tears that must have leaked out of him while he slept. 

It was a dream. It was just a dream. He repeated the words like a mantra to himself over and over again, as he came back to himself and remembered reality.

Still it was difficult convincing his nerves that his memory was accurate, and not the memory he was thinking of. He closed his eyes again, trying to fade back asleep.

Fuck it. 

He reached for his cell and texted Hunk, “Text me when you’re awake, ok?” Just for the reminder, just for the knowledge that Hunk was actually ok. 

He remembered crying in the dream, looking at Hunk’s photograph, seeing the things that Hunk loved and knowing, as one can only know in dreams, that Hunk would never see those things again. 

Keith rested his head against the headboard. He was tired, overtired, but he had the distinct feeling he wouldn’t be getting anymore sleep tonight. 

His phone buzzed and he jerked. He wasn’t expecting Hunk to text back so soon. “<3 everything ok?”

Keith swallowed. “Yeah,” he typed back, glad he didn’t have to speak, “Just a bad dream.”

“U need me 2 coem ovr?” Hunk replied, clearly overtired himself. Or Lance was affecting him more than Keith thought. 

“No, thanks,” he texted back, “I’m fine,” he lied. 

Now that he had his phone up, he started randomly scrolling through the internet. Not a whole lot had been updated since before he went to bed, everyone being asleep. It was 3 in the morning, when nothing was around, nothing fully conscious anyway. 

He’d been scrolling for about 5 minutes when there was a knock on his dorm door. Hesitant, he went to go answer, surprised to see Hunk with a couple of mugs of hot cocoa. “What--Hunk?” Keith said, “I said I was fine.”

“I know,” Hunk said, gently shoving past him to put the mugs down, “Which is Keith speak for ‘I’m freaking out but I don’t want other people to worry about me.’ So naturally, I worry.”

Keith shrank into his own shoulders as Hunk took out a bag of marshmallows and plopped them into the drinks. “You didn’t have to….”

“I know,” Hunk said, “But you’d help me out if I was freaking out. Come here, what’s going on?”

Hunk sat on Keith’s bed. Reluctantly, Keith sat beside him, and took the mug Hunk offered. “It was just a dream,” He said, repeating his mantra out loud. “You were...I mean, you’d apparently died somehow.” Keith shrugged, “Didn’t really make much logical sense really, the more I think of it.”

“Still, it sounds scary,” Hunk said, taking a sip of his cocoa, “I’m not really fond of the idea of dying.” 

“Me either,” Keith said, leaning into him. He couldn’t even imagine what he’d do...didn’t want to…

“What else happened in the dream?” Hunk said.

Honestly, the death part was what Keith had been focusing on, but he thought back. “I was fighting Purple Aliens.”

“Oh, yikes.” He said, “That sounds scary too. Did you win?”

“No,” Keith said, “Well, I found one of their weaknesses. They were sensitive to sound. But only for a few seconds before they adjusted.”

“Weird,” Hunk said, “I’ll have to remember that if I get taken in by purple aliens.” Keith snorted, holding his hot cocoa. “You know, if your marshmallow melts, it isn’t my fault.”

Keith snuggled up closer to Hunk sipping his hot cocoa. “Thank you.”

“Of course,” Hunk said, putting an arm around Keith, “I’m not going anywhere.”

Keith just smiled, sipping more at his cocoa.


	58. Keith/Lance Scooter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 70 year old Keith and Lance still know how to have fun, even if it makes them tired.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nursing homes, old age au

“Face it Lance,” Keith called back, “You’ll never catch me.”

“We’ll see about that!” Lance called out, “Don’t you remember my nickname? I’m taking a shortcut.”

Keith looked over his shoulder, “Lance, wait no!” Keith said, “Lance, you’re going to get stu--”

He was interrupted as the scooter Lance was riding went smack between a wall and a pole. He tried to reverse, but the head of the scooter was jammed.

Keith reversed his own scooter back over to Lance. “So, what was that nickname again? The Outfitter?”

“Shuddup,” Lance murmured. Keith laughed at him. After 50 years, Keith’s laugh was still beautiful to Lance. 

Romelle, the nursing home worker ran up, catching her breath. “Mr.s McClain-Kogane,” she gasped, “What did I tell you about racing scooters.”

“You said we couldn’t cause a disturbance,” Keith said, frowning at her, “We weren’t going to cause one.” Romelle looked over to the scooter they had lodged. “Ah...well…” Keith stuttered, “Sometimes nothing will stop my husband’s stupidity.”

“Hey!” Lance said, slowly clambering off the scooter. Romelle reached forward to help support him.

“Is that,” She muttered, holding Lance up, “Is that Mrs. Polaski’s scooter?” 

“She insulted my marigolds!” Lance protested, snarling at the scooter like it had been the insulter. Once he was vertical, he pulled away, standing under his own power. 

Romelle sighed, “You can’t steal other resident’s scooters,” She said, trying to keep her cool. “I’m going to have to report this.

Lance groaned at her, not impressed by the young woman’s threat. As quickly as he could, which wasn’t very, he got on the back of Keith’s scooter, hugging his husband’s back. “Keith, get us out of here!” 

“Wait!” Romelle called, but Keith was already taking off, Lance cackling behind them. 

“Ahh,” Lance said, resting his head on Keith’s back as Keith drove them to their complex, “Just like old times.” 

Keith’s face fell. “I miss Red….” he said, gripping the handles of his scooter like he once gripped his motorcycle. 

“I know,” Lance said, patting him on the shoulder as they reached their front door, “She lived a good life.”

“Mmmmhm.” Keith grumbled, waiting as Lance picked himself up. “I wanna take a nap.”

“What?” Lance said, getting Keith’s cane ready. He wanted one with a sword in it, but that was apparently not recommended by doctors, “What happened to your adventurous spirit?”

“I used it all up winning the scooter race,” he said, getting up himself and heading for the door, ignoring Lance’s attempts to push the cane on him.

“Bullshit, neither of us made it to the finish line,” Lance objected, sighing as he tried to force Keith to take the cane in hand. “It was a tie!”

“You got stuck, which makes it forfeit,” Keith said, still ignoring him and unlocking the door. “I win.” 

They walked in, their cats meowing up at them. Lance finally wrapped Keith’s fingers around the cane, and went to feed the yowling beasts. “Don’t forget your medicine!” Lance called after Keith as he made his way to the small bedroom. Keith groaned at him. “None of that! I’ve got another 30 years left in me, mister, and you’re going to be there for every one of them.”

“Dammit, Lance, you’re worse than the nurses!” Keith yelled at him. They could yell as loud as they wanted, their neighbors were deaf as doornails. Something that worked out for them nicely, as age had not made either of them quieter. “We’ve already been married 40 years, what more do you want from me?”

Lance heard the thump on the mattress and sighed, grabbing a glass of water as he made his own way back to the bedroom. “Take them,” Lance said, “It’ll make you feel better.” Keith groaned, but pushed the button on his mattress to help him sit up. And to think Keith didn’t want these at first, now he barely got out of bed. He grabbed the pill organizer Lance got him for christmas and took out his proper doses, swallowing them with the water. “It’s been a good 40 years, hasn’t it?” He asked softly.

Keith sighed, swallowing the last of his medication. “Could do without that time your sister hit on me. But, yes.” He smiled kindly at his husband, “The best 40 years. And it will be for another 30 more.” Lance smiled, tucking himself into bed beside Keith for their mid afternoon nap.


	59. Adam/Shiro Inception

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro is back at the Garrison, and reunites with an old "friend"
> 
> VOLTRON SEASON 7 SPOILERS
> 
> Adam Lives because I Say So

Shiro didn’t think he’d be in a Garrison bed ever again. He’d just started to get used to sleeping in the Lions. Sort of. 

Okay, he still didn’t really sleep much. Turns out even being put into a clone body didn’t really affect his brain or consciousness or WHATEVER to allow him to sleep. The other paladins had all gotten used to the idea that Shiro just went to bed late and woke up early. Hopefully they didn’t suspect Shiro had nights where he just didn’t sleep at all. 

He was trying to get to sleep tonight. He had read somewhere that just laying back and resting your eyes could sometimes give you the benefits of sleep even if you couldn’t actually sleep. And he needed it, 

Out of habit more than anything, he lay back and started to think of calming things. He was in a room full of puppies. The puppy nebula, with puppies of all shapes and sizes, hopping over him and snuggling up to him, keeping him warm and comfortable with their cute puppy antics as they hopped around the nebula. 

The nebula made him think of space, and space made him think of the lions, and the lions made him think if there was anyway of trying to flank Sendak’s ships in space where they could limit civilian casualties and quiznak, he was back to thinking of war strategies again. 

Annoyed, Shiro turned on his side, wedging himself against the wall. Okay, starting again. One puppy. Two puppies. Three puppies--

A hesitant knock came at his door, so soft Shiro thought he imagined it, or perhaps it was a knock on a neighbor door he just overheard, just loud enough to disturb his rhythm. 

The knock sounded louder, and, ok, that was definitely his door. Hoping some emergency didn’t just happen, he picked himself up with a yawn, and went to answer the door. 

He was surprised to see Adam on the other side, and in fact blinked repeatedly to make sure he wasn’t imagining it. “Hey,” he said confused.

Adam swallowed, meeting Shiro’s eyes for only a brief moment, before going down to his feet. “Sorry,” he said, “Stupid, I shouldn’t have come.” 

He turned to walk away, but Shiro grabbed him, awkwardly as he only had the one arm available to do it. “Hey, what’s going on?”

Adam sighed “I just--” He bit his tongue, “It was stupid. I had a dream where I had only dreamt you coming back. What kind of inception shit is that, right?” He shrugged nonchalantly. “Anyway, just wanted to like, confirm you were here or whatever.”

“I’m here,” Shiro said. “Most of me, anyway,” he indicated his arm. 

Adam smirked, “Yeah,” he said, nodding. “It’s almost a shame. You’re funeral was really nice.”

“Was it now?” Shiro asked.

“Some reps from the Japanese Garrison base came out and everything to say a few words,” Adam nodded, “Really touching, honestly.”

“Well,” Shiro said, “Sorry to take the fun out of funeral.” 

Adam snorted again, hanging his head, but Shiro saw just a trace of tears in his eyes. “Well, anyway,” he said, forcing the tears back in with sheer willpower, “I better be going. You’re here, obviously. And we both need sleep.”

“Wait,” Shiro said, “Do you...do you want to come in?” he said, grabbing at straws for some excuse to keep him there. “You know, just in case you have another inception dream. Don’t want you to have to come down here three times a night.”

Adam rolled his eyes. “How magnanimous of you.” 

“I rather thought so,” Shiro nodded, agreeing. “So...are you coming in?”

Shiro took a half step back, opening it up to Adam. 

Adam sighed, staring into the empty room. In slow motion, he stepped forward, heading in, with Shiro following him. 

 

“Took just one night for them to sleep in the same room,” Keith said the following morning to the paladins at breakfast, “Everybody pay up.”

The other four groaned in resignation, going through their wallets to find change. “They couldn’t have waited ONE damn night of lonely misery?” Lance muttered to himself. His first allowance since he’d gotten to space and he was already having to hand it over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really in the mood for some season 7 pairings/fics/etc. so if you have any ideas/suggestions send them my way. No pair is too rare to ship! Some I might still refuse, but no judgement anyway.


	60. Acxa/Veronica Babysitting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Veronica is stuck babysitting her brother and his friends, but it ends up leading to a meeting with a truly amazing person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Human AU, Keith-and-Acxa-are-siblings AU

Veronica would you PLEASE just go upstairs? We’re trying to have fun here.”

Veronica rolled her eyes at her younger brother. “But how am I supposed to babysit you from upstairs, Lancey?”

Lance’s friends muffled giggles made her words all the more worth it. “I don’t need a BABYSITTER!” Lance said, “I’m sixteen!”

“Exactly,” Veronica said, “and you insisted on having a sleepover, even though Mom and Dad are out. So I babysit.” She flipped the page of her magazine.

“Oh shit,” one of Lance’s friends, Kevin or Keith or something, said, “Lance, what’s your address? My sisters coming over to grab me.”

“Whaaaaaat?!” Lance yelled, “No, you can’t leave! We just started!”

“Sorry!” Keith said, “things are….weird with my family now. I think Moms making up for not being around by being super over protective. Doesn’t like me staying when peoples parents aren’t here.”

Veronica raised her eyebrows. She had mostly been joking about the babysitting stuff to torture Lance (one of her favorite pastimes), but it sounded like this Keith kid had...a very interesting home life. 

“Noooo,” Pidge said. Veronica liked her. “cant you, like, talk to your sister or something? We have Veronica here, she’s an adult!”

The attention in the room all turned to Veronica. She sighed. “I’ll talk to her.” 

Lance very nearly went to hug her until he remembered sibling affection was the worst and held back. 

Keith looked nervous, waiting as the others played video games, looking like an anvil was hanging over his head and he was just waiting for the rope to break.

Finally a knock came at the door. The party stopped suddenly, the high schoolers turning to the ominous sound in suspense. Unconsciously, the others created a barricade, unwilling to let Keith go. Veronica stood up to answer

When she opened the door, she was struck with the most beautiful creature she’d ever seen. She was a bit shorter, with her brother’s vaguely aggressive attitude, with clips in her short, kinda shaggy purple dyed hair, literally outlined in a halo from the setting sun.

Veronica gulped as the gay panic washed over her. “Hi,” She said, stalling while her brain rebooted, “how are you?”

The girl raised her eyebrow, confused, “I’m here for Keith?”

“Oh right, right,” she turned back to the group of kids. Lance, who fell prey to gay panic every other day, recognized the signs and panicked, trying to encourage her to remember her mission with just strained facial expressions. “Actually, the thing is, um,”

“Is there a problem?” The girl asked.

“No! No problem. Except um, yeah. Yeah there is, just—“ she looked back at the kids again, “see, Keith really wants to stay. And I know your mom has a thing about no parents, but I’m 20, and I’m here, so, I’ll watch out for them. And it’ll be ok.”

The girls brow furrowed. “No offense,” she said, “but I don’t know you, my mom doesn’t know you, so this won’t work.”

‘I’d like you to get to know me,’ Veronica thought, just barely managing to stop herself from saying the thought out loud. “Come on, Acxa,” Keith said, voice verging on a whine, “we’re just eating pizza and playing video games, it’s fine.”

“You know moms rules,” the girl, Acxa apparently, said, “come on, get your stuff and get on my bike.”

Veronica frowned, looking past Acxa to see a motorcycle in their driveway. Their mom was against sleepovers but ok with motorcycles?

“I’ve known these guys longer than I knew YOU,” Keith snarled, “I’m staying.” 

Acxa looked like she was about to storm in and drag him out by the mullet, “now, Wait a sec,” Veronica said, trying to calm the situation, “what if you stayed here with him?”

Nobody, not even Veronica, was expecting that as a response. “What?” Acxa asked, face utterly confused.

“You could stay in my room,” Veronica’s mouth was open and her voice was coming out, but she swore she wasn’t speaking.

Acxa looked her up and down, analyzing her like Veronica had been put in a scanner. Surprising everyone, Acxa said “....let me call my mom.”

Acxa turned around in the driveway, taking her phone out. Veronica turned to Lance and the boys, amazed that worked. “Alright,”Acxa said after a long tense pause, “Mom says it’s ok.”

The kids all cheered, as Veronica welcomed Acxa into her house.

 

“My mom and Dad got divorced when I was really young. Dad took me away,” Acxa said,as though she were recounting a boring anecdote, “Mom went off, had another family, but got dragged back into our...family business.” Now that she was vague about. Veronica automatically assumed mafia. “We didn’t hear for years about what happened to Keith’s Dad. He bounced around some fosters, apparently, had some older brother he worships like the sun, but finally he made contact with my grandfather. By that time, Dad was dead, so mom took me and Grandfather back to the states to care for him, now that the brother went off to college.”

“Wow,” Veronica said, struggling to paint Axca’s pinky nail without coating her toe. Neither of them were particularly experienced with slumber parties, so they fell back on movie stereotypes. “And I thought me and Lance had issues.”

“He seems to like you,” Acxa said.

“Oh, he adores me,” Veronica said, “but he sometimes thinks he’s older than he is. He doesn’t like people taking care of him, but I have to, you know? I’m his big sister.”

Acxa shifted uncomfortably, “I’ve never been a big sister before,” she said, “I feel like...sometimes I feel like I’m doing it wrong.”

Veronica smiled. “All older sisters are new to it at some point,” she said, as comfortingly as she could. Satisfied enough with the paint job, she capped the nail polish and held out her own drying hand. “Welcome, Acxa, to the McClain older sister school.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m on mobile so idk if this is my typical length but here ya go


	61. Ezor/Zethrid Treasure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ezor and Zethrid encounter some unlikely cargo on a pirate raid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW Child Trafficking, Violence

“EZOR WE HAVE TO RETREAT!” Zethrid yelled, caught behind the wall as she fired shot after shot at the ships crew. They were oddly well-armed for a cargo freighter. 

“In a dobash!” Ezor called back, jumping from box to box, dancing around as she grabbed her loot and tossed it into the hover bin they were using to transport everything. 

Zethrid grit her teeth. She was always up for fighting but this was getting tedious. Ever since they’d split from Acxa they’d had to steal for everything they needed to survive. This had quickly turned into stealing anything they WANTED to survive and hey, they were good at it, so why not. 

Ezor had a bit of a sparkly eye, though, and liked grabbing everything in sight. Zethrid liked having lots of stuff too, but she wasn’t borderline kleptomaniac like Ezor was. “Ezor. Seriously, I’m tired.” She killed another crewman. 

“One Dobash!” Ezor said more insistently, “We haven’t even gotten to the good stuff yet.”

“What good stuff?” Zethrid yelled back. 

“With all the weapons those guys have they have to have something REALLY good in this cargo hold to protect!” Ezor said, digging through a crate, trying to see if there was anything in the lining, “And we haven’t found anything worth all of that yet. So, there has to be something hidden.”

Zethrid groaned. She knew Ezor was right, but she was ready to bask in the spoils they had collected. She loved, fighting, don’t get her wrong, the adrenaline rush alone was enough to keep her going. But these guys weren’t even fun to fight, there were just a lot of them with big guns. It was like swatting at bugs, it just stopped being fun after a while. 

“AHA!” Ezor shouted, “Secret Door! Come on, Zethy!” 

“I told you to stop calling me that!” Zethrid said, “On missions….” She would never admit to liking the nickname, but at the least it made her feel weird and that was distracting while trying to kill people. And not be killed.

“I’ll stop calling you if you get OVER here! Whatever they’re hiding has to be in here.” She pulled the secret panel open revealing a hidden hallway.

Zethrid groaned again, letting out a large volley to push the crew back before retreating to Ezor’s hallway. 

“Great, Zethrid said, closing the door behind her, “Now we’re trapped.”

“Stop being so negative!” Ezor said, “Now come on, lets see what they got! I just hope whatever it is, its jewel-encrusted! Something nice and shiny for me to wear!”

“I hope it’s something real expensive,” Zethrid said, “So we can sell it for a lot of money.”

“Stop being practical, you’re making this less fun.”

Zethrid sighed, “Sorry, sorry.” 

The first thing they saw walking in was….a bunch of beds? Were they transporting beds?

Before they could ask each other what this was, a small head stuck up from one of the beds. It was a child, green with tendrils coming out of his head. “Is the shooting over?” the kid said. 

Slowly, more kids stuck their heads out, peeking at Zethrid and Ezor in fear. They were ordered out

Zethrid and Ezor turned to face each other, piecing together exactly what the ship’s cargo was. 

“Excuse me,” Zethrid said, lifting her gun, “I have to go kill some more of the crew.” 

Ezor nodded. “Okay, kids,” She said, “Come on, we’re going to take a trip onto our nice ship and get you all home. Grab your stuff!”

Ezor went and collected all the children, guiding them out, while Zethrid slaughtered the child traffickers. “You know,” Ezor said once they made it back the kids all settling in, “I always wanted kids.”

Zethrid sighed. “Maybe we can keep one. IF they’re orphaned and have nowhere to go.” Which was honestly likely, given the state of the universe. 

Ezor squealed, giving Zethrid a kiss as they took off. “Maybe two? One for each of us?”

Zethrid hummed, “Maybe.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some reason I figure these guys have like a Poison Ivy/Harley Quinn vibe.


	62. Romelle/Veronica Hummingbird

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Veronica is intrigued by the pretty blonde alien that landed with the other paladins at the Garrison

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Veronica is a giant gay mess and no one can convince me otherwise

“Whoa,” Veronica said, once their mother had been pried off Lance. “Real aliens.”

Lance followed her gaze to where Allura, Coran, and Romelle were speaking with Sam Holt. “Oh, yeah. You get used to it pretty fast.”

Veronica tipped her head to the side. “She’s so pretty…” Veronica bit her lip.

“Who, Allura?” Lance said, “‘Course she is, she’s a space princess.”

“Not the Princess,” Veronica said, “Well...okay, yeah, she’s gorgeous too. I meant the blonde one.” 

“Romelle?!” Lance asked, “I mean, yeah she’s nice, but damn she can be annoying sometimes.”

“What, like you?” Veronica asked. 

Lance grumped, “Your beloved brother finally returns from an intergalactic war, and you can’t even wait a DAY to start roasting him?”

“Nope,” Veronica said, smirking and popping her ‘p.’ “I’m going to talk to her.”

“Have fun.” Lance said, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“You mean like be actually smooth and charming?” Veronica asked.

“One day!” Lance said, “That’s all I ask! One day to enjoy my home planet before begging to get shot into space again.”

Veronica chuckled, leaving Lance back to the mercies of their loving family. “Hi,” she said to the blonde alien, as Allura and Coran were led away to examine alien tech, “I’m Veronica, Lance’s sister.”

“Oh, hello!” she said in a cheery voice, “I’m Romelle.” 

“Nice to meet you,” Veronica held out her hand. Romelle looked at it confused, “Oh, this is a handshake, it’s like a greeting here on Earth.” Romelle nodded in understanding, grabbing the hand and shaking it until Veronica was worried her arm would fall off. “Um,” She said, once she was decently certain her arm was still in it’s socket, “Would you like a look around?” 

 

Romelle was eager to see all the interesting Earth Contraptions and how they were all so different than anything she was used to. It was like trying to follow a hummingbird. Who’d just drunk a pot of coffee. Mixed with espresso. And red bull.

“And this,” Veronica said, opening a door with the general hope it might pull Romelle away from the panel she was poking at, inputting all types of commands their computer couldn’t handle, “Is where you’ll be staying while you’re here,”

Romelle bounced over to the open door and looked it. “My….my room?” she asked. She was still moving, a little nervous flutter under her skin, but her feet finally stood in place as she examined the area. 

It was pretty barren, with only a standard issue bed and sheets, an empty dresser, a mirror, and a set of an old cadet uniform in the closet. “It’s an old cadet’s quarters,” Veronica said, “Bathroom’s down the hall.” Romelle just stared into it blankly. “Is it ok?”

“Oh, yes!” Romelle said, overly cheerful. “Yes, it should be fine, I just, haven’t had my own room in a while. I’ve been spending so much time with the Paladins and before that Keith and Krolia. They’re a bit quiet, but they’re nice. And when I was little I slept in the same room as my brother, before…” Her face fell. Veronica could only imagine what might have happened, and as someone with three brothers, one of whom she had thought she lost, she didn’t want to. 

“Well,” Veronica said, “Most of the cadets have been moved to the barracks, in one of the warehouses. It’s not comfy, and definitely not private, but the rooms are prioritized to families, and honored guests like yourself, of course.” Romelle nodded, but Veronica could see she wasn’t really listening, “We could set you up with a bunk down there, if you’d like?” 

Romelle looked up, “Really?” Veronica nodded, “Oh, thank you!” and instantly pulled Veronica in for a hug. 

Error, Error, Veronica’s brain read to her, Cute Girl Hugging You, Do Something You Useless Lesbian. 

Veronica gingerly hugged back, until Romelle released her, back in her flighty mood once again. 

Veronica set her up with a bunk next to her own, because she was in charge of these things and could do that. Romelle curled up, like the little makeshift cot was a luxury mattress. Finally, she settled in to sleep, looking truly restful for the first time since Veronica met her.


	63. Krolia/"Jack" Springs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack and Krolia are just getting used to each other's existence, but Krolia has difficulty being a good roommate.

Jack stretched. He was the good kind of tired, the kind where he had spent exactly all of his energy reserves without going over. After work, he’d gone out to get drinks with the guys (guys being a catch-all, there were several women he got along with fine), and had an honest bit of fun. He wasn’t usually one for being social, but this hadn’t been too stressful. It had been the most normal he’d felt in months, ever since….

Well, ever since he got a big, mean, purple alien for a roommate. 

Krolia had only recently decided she would be remaining on Earth, to protect the blue lion down below. She was still….adjusting to life on this planet, but at the least they’d figured out how to coexist in Jack’s house. 

Or so he thought. 

Walking into the house, he found Krolia curled on the couch, knees up to her chin as her eyes were glued to Jack’s television. She was eating cereal, for some reason it was one of her favorite earth foods. “Hey,” he said in greeting.

“This character is a physician, isn’t he?” Krolia said, squinting at the television, “Why doesn’t he ever seem to be at work?”

Jack looked over to the screen, seeing a man in a labcoat, making out with a finely dressed woman, as another woman, presumably the man’s wife, watched from the window. “I don’t know. I don’t really watch these trashy soap operas.”

“Soap?” Krolia asked, “There’s no soap in this plot.”

He made his way over to the fridge to grab some leftovers to microwave. “Not literal soap, its just something those shows are called. And before you ask, no, I don’t know why.” He frowned, scanning the shelves of the fridge with his eyes. “Did you finish off the chili?”

“Sorry,” Krolia said, crunching the cereal. 

Jack sighed, and decided to forego a late night snack, he wasn’t that hungry, “I’m going to bed. Don’t forget to turn the lights out before you sleep.”

“Okay,” Krolia said, “Wait!” as though she had only just remembered something. 

It was too late. Jack had already opened his bedroom door and seen what Krolia was going to warn him about. “My bed….” Jack said, “What happened to my bed.” 

There was just the frame sitting there, surrounded by the fluff o what remained of his mattress. “Uh,” Krolia said, running up behind him, flinching, “I was trying to create a rig, and i needed the springs. They were perfectly coiled. I meant to replace it before you got back but I got distracted.”

“Rig?” He asked, “Rig for what?” Krolia did not answer, but looked over her shoulder at the table in the office. “My computer!” his voice went unnaturally high, “What happened to my computer!” 

“I needed it to rig a facial distortion unit,” Krolia said, “Your technology is primitive, so I had to improvise.”

“You can’t just tear apart my stuff like this!” Jack yelled, “I have been MORE than reasonable in this whole situation. I mean, of course I wasn’t going to turn you in, but I let you stay here, I try and keep you comfortable, I just...I don’t know how it is in space, but I expect you to respect my things!” 

Krolia actually looked ashamed for a moment, a rare sight on the Galra, but that quickly turned to anger. “I know that! Do you think I don’t understand what you’ve done? That’s precisely WHY I did what I did.”

“If this is some sort of Galra gratitude, I am better off without it!” He shouted, “What could you possibly--”

“I was trying to get a job!” Krolia shouted. Jack was too stunned to respond. “I built a facial distortion unit so that I could change my appearance for a video call interview, and get a job online. Like I said, your technology is primitive, it’s well within my capability for understanding.”

Jack blinked at her multiple times. Maybe he was just overtired, but it sounded like… “You were-”

“I know having me as a tennant hasn’t been easy,” Krolia said, “I know you love your job, but it doesn’t pay enough to support an alien roommate. So I thought I would help contribute, since it seems I’ll be staying here for….” she trailed off, unsure how long she’d really be there, “...a while.”

He sighed, “You don’t have to do that,” he said, the atmosphere of the room calming, but that livewire of anger had turned into...something else. Something deep in his chest he’d been trying to ignore. “I can take care of you.”

“I’m not much one for letting people take care of me,” Krolia said, “Not when I can care for you.”

He smiled, “I don’t think I can stop myself caring for you.” 

Krolia smiled, just a little smile, but it was somehow warmer than the widest grin. She put her hand on his neck, mimicking the posture of the doctor on screen. He didn’t dare stop her as she pulled him in for a kiss. 

It was awkward, Krolia’s mouth full of fangs he had to avoid, but he couldn’t deny having wanted this, holding himself back because he knew it wasn’t right to push himself on someone who depended on him. He’d been a fool. Someone like Krolia didn’t depend on anyone.

He also had now officially depleted his energy reserves, “So,” he said, “This may be moving a bit fast, but you DID destroy my bed.” Krolia chuckled, guilty, “Might I sleep with you on the futon?”

“It’s your house,” Krolia said, “As long as you don’t mind that I’m there too.”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way,” he said, pecking her lips again.


	64. Keith & Krolia Something

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith looks for Krolia, and finds her strolling down memory lane. 
> 
> Platonic only

Keith wandered through the Garrison compound where all the families were holed up as best as they could be, in search of his own family. Specifically his mother. Who he hadn’t expected to be wandering around. 

It had been a bit touch and go when the Blades of Marmora had started landing on Earth. A lot of humans had been hesitant about accepting Galra warriors on their world. Keith came very close to blowing his gasket in a particularly heated argument with one of the generals, but Shiro had stepped in and the Galra were accepted. 

Keith hadn’t revealed his own Galra heritage beyond a select number of people, which had also been an issue when Krolia had come to visit him in the hospital. No one stopped Krolia from seeing her son, though, not anymore. 

Except whatever was keeping Krolia away from him right now, which he could not imagine. How did a purple alien just disappear? 

Finally, in a last ditch effort he went over to Lance’s family to see if they had seen anything (there were approximately 10,000 of them, surely one of them had seen her. 

Of course, as soon as he reached where they had been staying, he found Krolia curled up around Lance’s niece and nephew. Neither of them had any problem with Galra or any other aliens that had landed on the planet. 

“Mom?” Keith asked. 

Krolia opened her eyes, staying very still so as not to disturb the children. “Keith,” she said, smiling, “Everything all right?”

Keith shrugged sitting beside her, “I was just looking for you. I had some free moments so thought I’d check in, see if you wanted to do something.”

“Oh, that sounds good,” Krolia said, blinking her eyes, “Though I have promised to babysit Clara and Javier here.” She referenced the children curled up, one each in her arms.

Keith looked down at them. He hadn’t had many interactions with Lance’s family, despite the fact they’d all been introduced to him. He remembered Clara and Javier being loud and boisterous, not unlike tiny, sugar-filled Lances, but now they looked peaceful, Javier’s small chubby hand making fists in Krolia’s blade of marmora outfit. 

“That’s alright,” Keith said, “We can do something later. I can leave you to it.” 

“Wait,” Krolia reached out to grab his hand, accidentally releasing Clara. The little girl clutched her tighter. “Would you stay a minute?”

Keith sat back down. Krolia’s smile was sentimental. “I never got to see you when you were this size,” Krolia said, looking down at the kids, “I just….was wondering what you were like.”

Keith sighed, thinking, “I don’t remember much,” he said, “Flashes, feelings. Moments with Dad.” he smirked. “I liked to run.”

“Run?” Krolia said?

Keith nodded, “Climb trees, and when there were no trees I’d climb the house. Nearly gave Dad a heart attack more than once.” 

Krolia chuckled, “I can imagine,” she said, smiling quietly to herself. “I did too, on more than one occasion.”

Keith smirked. “I can imagine.” He sighed, thinking, “Facing the both of us would have been interesting.”

“It would,” Krolia said, “I think I would have helped you get into trouble.” 

Keith turned away from her a bit, looking out over the crowds of people. For some reason he felt tears coming to his face, imagining the life that never was. “Would have been something.”

Krolia shifted Javier until he was sleeping on top of her. She held out her arm, beckoning him to her. 

Taking a deep sigh, Keith quickly overcame his embarrassment and went to lie beside her. Krolia wrapped her arm around him, holding him like….like a mother.

Keith clenched his jaw, reverting back to an age where he needed a mother, not much older than the twins they slept beside. He closed his eyes, letting Krolia keep him warm.


	65. Lance/Lotor Bunks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Veronica is Not Pleased when she finds her brother sleeping next to a former Galran Warlord.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AU where Lotor is not evil and came back with Voltron through the rift because Canon is putty that I will shape and bend to my will

“Excuse me,” Veronica said standing over Lance’s bunk, “Bunks are limited to one person at any given time. Violations are strictly not permitted.”

Lance blinked his eyes open, waking up far faster than he wanted. “What the FUCK, Veronica….”

Beside him, he felt Lotor also shifting. “Is something the matter?” He asked Veronica, sounding far more awake than he looked. 

“You have your own bunk assignment,” Veronica said, shining a light in Lotor’s eyes, “Go back to it, or I’ll report you for violating procedure.”

Lance groaned, trying to pick himself up, “for fucks sake, Veronica, if you wanted us to stay in separate beds, maybe you shouldn’t have assigned us bunks at the far ends of the fucking compound.”

Veronica squinted at him, shining her flashlight in his eyes instead. “Bunk assignments are based on the needs at the time.”

“Bullshit,” Lance said, collapsing back in bed. He swore a lot more when he was tired. 

“AND all bunk assignments are final.” Veronica said, “So get your tall purple ass out of my baby brother’s bed.” 

Lotor hesitated for only a moment before sitting up, “If I may say, Veronica, while I of course respect your authority--”

“I’m not a baby,” Lance said, interrupting him. 

“Once a baby brother, always a baby brother,” Veronica said, “besides, you’re still young.”

“I’ve done more things than you can imagine,” Lance said, “Fought people half a universe away. I’ve earned the right to sleep in the same bed as my boyfriend.” 

“You are STILL my younger brother,” Veronica said, “AND a cadet under my command. So if I tell you that you shouldn’t sleep in the same bed as an alien dictator--”

“Former, really,” Lotor said, “And I’m not keen on the word ‘dictator’ I--”

“Shut up!” Brother and sister both snapped.

“We’ve slept in the same bed before, you realize,” Lance said, “And admit it, you assigning us spaces across the compound from each other is some twisted petty power trip to try and keep us apart.”

“It’s not about that!” Veronica said, her voice raising. 

“Then what? What is it about?” Lance said, sitting up to properly snarl at her. 

“I thought you were dead!” Veronica said, her voice raising, “For however many YEARS I thought you were dead. And now you’re back, and so I’m going to protect you however I can, even if it’s just from some shitty boyfriend!”

They both went silent. As did several people around them, and they were forced to remember they were in a barracks, not alone, and several of the closest people were listening in, curious about the argument. 

Lance surprised them all by breaking out into laughter. Veronica and Lotor both stared at him, waiting an absurdly long time as he laughed everything out, until he could speak again. “It’s sweet,” Lance said, “You’re sweet. But I know how to protect myself, Ronnie. Even from a shitty boyfriend.”

“Hey,” Lotor said, lightly offended. It was one thing Veronica saying it, another for Lance to. 

“Just as an example, babe,” Lance said. “Lotor helps me sleep,” Lance told Veronica, “He’s big, and the perfect temperature so I don’t overheat and don’t freeze. He even will sing me to sleep sometimes.” Lotor blushed. That was something they typically kept between themselves. “Don’t let the resemblance to giant bloodthirsty purple aliens fool you, he’s a big old softy.”

Veronica turned her attention to Lotor. Sensing that whatever he said might make the situation worse, Lotor stayed silent, but attempted to look as innocent and well-meaning as possible. 

Lance reached forward and grabbed Veronica’s hand. “I’m back, Ronnie. I’m really back. You don’t have to worry about me so much. I’ve got plenty of people looking out for me.”

Veronica still looked conflicted. “In this special case….” she said, “I’ll allow Lotor to be reassigned to a bunk next to yours. But that’s as close as I go. 

Lance smiled, “Thanks, sis.”

And if, after Veronica was gone, the two of them pushed their bunks together, well, Veronica didn’t need to know that.


	66. Acxa/Veronica Summer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Acxa's dying in the heat, but luckily she has a girlfriend to care for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> College AU

It was a beautiful Summer day.

Acxa hated every second of it. 

Having a wardrobe primarily made of black, she had limited outfits that wouldn’t make her overheat. Not to mention the bugs. Bugs liked her for some reason. She was going to be eaten alive by the end of the day. 

But, the air conditioner in her dorm was broken, and she lived directly above the boiler, so her floor was actually heated. The campus center was loud, and classrooms had a similar problem to her dorm. So, she headed out for the most secluded spot in the campus center field, lay down a towel that was too small, really, put down her bag as a makeshift pillow, and lay facedown on it to try and nap for a little bit, if only to wait out the sun. 

She was there for maybe ten minutes when she heard footsteps by her. She ignored them, hoping that if she lay still enough, they would assume she was asleep and leave her alone. 

Instead she heard odd clicking noises, the woosh of opening fabric, and then felt cool on the back of her neck. 

Curious she lifted her head to see none other than Veronica beside her, setting up what looked like a small christmas tree stand beneath a large umbrella that was currently blocking out the sun. “What are you doing?” Acxa asked. 

“Hello, lovely girlfriend,” Veronica said, overenthusiastically and oversarcastically, “It’s good to see you too.”

Acxa sighed as she looked. Veronica had a large bag beside her, and set out a blanket that looked a good deal more comfortable than her shitty towel. “What is all this?”

“This, my dear, is my summer kit,” she said, pulling out sunscreen and a water-bottle fan. “If you’re going to be outside, then I will have to take care of you, my poor innocent little goth.”

Acxa scowled, “I’m not Goth.”

“Mmmm,” Veronica said, not believing her at all. “Sure. But you were going to die out here dressed like that with no protection,” She tossed her the sunscreen. 

Acxa groaned, falling back onto her makeshift pillow. “Summer’s the WORST.”

“Lies,” Veronica said, spraying some bug spray around, “Summer is awesome. Sure, sometimes it can be too hot, but you just have to know how to handle it.”

Acxa rolled her eyes. “In winter, you can just put on more layers. What are you supposed to do in summer, take off your skin?”

“No,” Veronica said, picking the sunscreen up and knocking Acxa on the head with it repeatedly until she took it. “You just have to find ways to cool down. And cooling down is SO much more fun! You get to eat ice cream, go in the pool, sleep under some shade,” she indicated the umbrella, “And you just need a fan! In winter you have to dig your way out through snow, and it’s always dark and brooding, and you can’t do anything without your fingers freezing off.”

“Mmm, sounds perfect,” Acxa said, thinking about it. 

“Goth,” Veronica accused. Acxa glared, “Would you get off that ratty towel already?”

Acxa sighed, moving over to the blanket. Veronica readjusted the umbrella. “What about, hot chocolate, a warm fireplace, a soft blanket?” Acxa suggested. “And cuddling under a soft blanket.”

Veronica blushed and for a moment Acxa thought she might have won her over to her side. “Nope,” Veronica said, “I will cuddle no matter how warm it is.” To prove her point, she came over, hugging Acxa. 

“Ack!” Acxa pushed her off in a heap, her glasses going askew. “No, too sweaty.”

Veronica collapsed on her back, dramatically, “Rejection. How cruel….how devastating…”

Acxa rolled her eyes, but pecked Veronica on the cheek, staining her with a bit of dark lipstick. “There, that’s all you get. I’m going to rest.”

Veronica sighed. “I suppose we’ll call a draw on the temperature wars for now.” she said, “Summer is still the best.”

“You keep thinking that,” Acxa said, making herself comfortable for a nap. “I’m going to sleep now, because I won’t be able to in my dorm tonight, that I’m pretty sure is centered above hell itself.”

Veronica paused. “You know,” She said, “You could always sleep in MY dorm.”

Acxa’s eyes snapped open, “YOUR DORM HAS HAD AIR CONDITIONING THIS WHOLE TIME??? AND YOU LET ME SLEEP OUT HERE?????”

Veronica shrugged, “Sorry?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're curious, I am on Veronica's side here


	67. Keith/Hunk Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Hunk and Keith fail to save Hunk's family, Keith tries to comfort him, trying to put his gay feelings aside (unsuccessfully)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guess who woke up at 3 in the morning feeling wide awake!!  
> I think writing has expended some of the energy, I'll try to sleep now.

As Keith expected, he found Hunk right where he’d found him in the beginning, stress baking on the Garrison’s awful kitchenettes. “I’m sorry,” Keith said, leaning against the doorway, “I feel like I got your hopes up for nothing.”

Hunk sighed, “No. not for nothing,” he said, “I know where they are. I...I KNOW we’ll save them. But I just….” He put the spatula down, leaning on the counter, “I feel so...alone.”

Keith came up and put a hand on Hunk’s back, “You’re not alone,” he said, “I know how--I know how that can feel, and it’s terrible. But you’re never really alone. If you go looking, there’s always someone there to help.” He shrugged, “I just was never good at going looking.”

Hunk smiled, putting a hand over Keith’s. “I guess a lot of this must seem kind of insensitive to you.” 

“I know where my family is,” Keith said, “It might not be as traditional family as yours, with my giant purple mother and cyborg kind-of brother,” He managed to get Hunk to snort, “But I know where they are, more or less, and I understand the importance of wanting to keep your family safe.”

Hunk’s eyes filled with tears. “I just...I feel like such a kid. I’m a Paladin, but all I want is my ‘Mommy and Daddy.’”

“We ARE kids,” Keith said, “Well, I’m older than you. But still,” he got Hunk to smile just a bit again, “And no matter how old you are, its ok to want your family. It isn’t weak. Pidge’s want for her family is how we all got here in the first place. It’s natural, and it’s okay.” Hesitant, Keith went in for the hug. 

Keith wasn’t good at hugs. He could do some hugs with Shiro and the once with his mom. But he wasn’t good. He didn’t know how you became good, but something about his angle here on Hunk’s shoulder was just all kinds of awkward and it was the worst. 

Hunk seemed to catch onto what Keith was attempting, turning so that the angle was better. “Thanks, man,” Hunk said. “I just wish I could sleep.”

Keith bit the inside of his cheek. “I have an idea.”

 

Keith regretted his idea. He regretted it so much. But it was also the best idea ever for his poor gay little heart. 

The bunks at the Garrison were not meant for more than one person, there just wasn’t any way around it. And Hunk was, lovingly, rather large, taking up more than half the bed easily. Keith, meanwhile, used to be small and scrawny, but two excess years away of training had gained him more muscle, so the only way to fit on the same bunk as Hunk was to meld himself to his friend, lying practically on top of him. 

Oblivious to Keith’s gay panic, Hunk put his arm around him, hugging him close. “Thank you,” he said, “This is really comforting. And relaxing.”

“You’re welcome,” Keith said, trying to avoid sounding like he was the most stressed he had ever been. Don’t be gay, don’t be gay, Keith chanted to himself, this is about helping Hunk feel better don’t be gay. 

“You know, being here really takes me back,” Hunk said, “This will probably sound stupid, but I kinda always had a little crush on you.”

Keith was going to die. Cause: overwhelming gayness. “Really?” He asked, trying to sound neutral. 

“Yeah,” Hunk chuckled, “I know you didn’t really know who I was. I kept quiet about it, ‘cause Lance was positive you two were ‘rivals’ or whatever. But I think he guessed anyway.”

“Huh,” Keith said. It was true, he was self-centered enough in his Garrison days he had no idea who Hunk was at the time. He wish he did. 

“Anyway. I’m glad you’re here with me now. It’s good to remember, even when I don’t have my Earth-Family, I get to have my space-family.”

Is it possible for someone’s heart to explode from both warm feelings AND sad feelings? Because he’d never heard of family-zoned, but this felt like it was it. Of course, there was also the little orphan part of him that was happy anytime he gained more family, no matter the circumstances. 

He gave Hunk a little squeeze he hoped was comforting. “Of course we are, Hunk. We’re always here for you.” He took a deep sigh, resting his head on Hunk’s chest (so comfy) and hoping to sleep away his dilemma. 

They stayed silent for several moments breathing in sync, until Keith was almost convinced he could fall asleep. “Can I tell you a secret?” Hunk whispered to the dark of the night. Keith hummed affirmative, “My crush on you….kind of never went away.”

Keith’s eyes snapped open. No way was he sleeping tonight.


	68. Allura/Romelle Mourn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allura and Romelle relate their experiences with loss.

Allura sighed. She knew she was supposed to be sleeping and resting because she was still injured from the fight with Sendak.

But she was restless. She wanted to get up, move around, see something other than the damn walls of the hospital. She may not like the Altean Healing Pods, not after having been in them for so long (she was always worried about how many years would pass if she was in them) at the least she was asleep through the whole process. Staying awake during her recovery was so damn boring.

Coran and Romelle had spent a good amount of time with her, but Coran had things to do with Shiro revolving around the Atlas, as the resident expert on Altean technology. Romelle had no such duties.

But sometimes...Allura wished she did. 

“So, what were the animals on Old Altea like? Were they anything like Earth Beasts? Or did you have Cobalo beasts like we did? My brother had a pet Cobalo, but my mother always wanted us to uses it for it’s snot.”

Allura sighed, far too awake to get to sleep, even though she was trying. She wondered if she could fake it. “I’ve never heard of a Cobalo.”

“Oh, Cobalo are the cutest things!” Romelle said, “They have big floppy ears and a little snout, and their snot is one of the best cleaners, they get rid of stains in practically anything. I looked after my brother’s after he--”

She cut herself off, and Allura opened one of her eyes. Romelle was perched at the end of her bed, practically on top of her feet. Romelle’s head was turned away, where Allura couldn’t see her face. “I’m sorry,” Allura said, “I mean, I know what it’s like...to trust in someone like that and…” She trailed off, not wanting to think about her experiences with Lotor. 

Romelle sniffed back her tears. “I know, it must seem odd to you. You lost even more than me, so…”

“It’s not a competition, Romelle,” Allura said, “You’re allowed to feel sad.” 

Romelle sighed, “I don’t like feeling sad. I don’t like being angry either. It’s just.”

“Sometimes we need to feel those emotions, so that we can recover,” Allura said, “I had to grieve. To mourn the loss of my father before I could move on.”

Romelle sniffed. “I don’t want to move on, I just want to be happy again.”

Allura listened to her sniffle. Sighing, she opened up her arms. Romelle looked up, and Allura could see her tears. “It’s a hug,” Allura explained, “Come on.”

Romelle crawled up the bed and let Allura envelope her in a hug. “You don’t have to move on right now.” Allura reassured her, “And when you’re ready, you’ll have us there to help you, ok? Just like I had Coran and the paladins.” She sighed, stroking Romelle’s hair, “And we have this planet here. They’ve all lost a lot as well. They’ll understand.”

Romelle sniffed more, “But...if I move on...I’m afraid I’ll leave them behind. I’ll forget them…”

Allura shook her head, resting on top of Romelle’s, “You won’t forget. Your family will always be with you. But they wouldn’t want you to be unhappy all the time, would they?”

Romelle chewed on her lower lip, “I suppose not,” she said, “I just. I just want them back.”

Allura squeezed her as Romelle couldn’t hold the tears in any longer. She thought of her father standing in front of her, “I know,” Allura said, “I know, I wish--I wish I could help, but…”

She felt her own tears slipping down her cheeks. Romelle squeezed her back, as they both cried. “I know,” Romelle said, “I wish I could help you too.”

They both lay there, hugging one another, “I’m here for you,” Romelle said, “I….I’m here for you too.”

Allura smiled despite her tears, holding Romelle close. “Thank you.”

Several minutes later, Coran returned to the hospital bedroom, finding both Allura and Romelle sobbing and holding each other tightly. “What in Groggery’s name happened here?”


	69. Hunk/Keith/Lance Requirement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hogwarts Students, Hunk, Keith, and Lance, struggle to find a place to cuddle when they're all in separate houses, but Keith has found a way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hogwarts AU

“Are you sure about this?” Hunk whispered.

Keith and Lance both went “Shh!”

“It’s past curfew...maybe we should just go back…”

“SHHHHH!” Keith and Lance hissed, their noise louder than Hunk’s whisper. They both raised their wands, looking up and down the corridors. “Clear,” Lance whispered, and they rushed forward, Hunk whimpering behind them before reluctantly following.

Keith took the lead, his wand lit up as he navigated the hallways, Lance and Hunk flanking him. He stopped dead when he heard footsteps coming down the opposite hallway. Hunk inhaled sharply, pulling the both of them back by their robes around the corner.

Lance pulled out of Hunk’s grip, guiding them to a tapestry, before pulling it aside to reveal a secret passageway. “In here,” he ushered, and the three crowded into the narrow stone.

As the footsteps got closer, Hunk pointed his wand at the tapestry and muttered “muffliato” 

They listened. The slow gait could only be Professor Haggar. Each step made them nervous. Hunk leaned down and whimpered into Lance’s shoulder while Keith patted his arm. He muttered something under his breath that the others couldn’t hear, except for the word detention repeated several times. 

Finally, the footsteps faded away. The trio waited still for several more seconds until they were sure no one else was coming. Hesitant, Keith poked his head out, taking a few cautionary steps around the corner. “Come on,” He whispered back. Lance pulled Hunk out to follow him. 

“So, where are we going?” Lance whispered. 

“I’ll show you,” Keith said, looking around, “We’re almost there.” 

They made it up to the 7th floor, until Keith started pacing back and forth. “Uh, Keith?” Hunk asked, “Are you lost? Are WE lost?!” 

“I’m not lost,” Keith said pacing one last time, “I just have to…” On his next pass, a door appeared in the wall. 

Keith beamed in the wandlight, beckoning Lance and Hunk forward. Curious, they both stepped forward. 

Inside the room was a dorm, similar to any other dorm in the castle, with bunks and trunks and banners. Except instead of the typical curtains that would decorate the house dorms, they had different color curtains, one red, one yellow, one blue. “What’s this?”

“It’s a dorm for us,” Keith said, “A place we can stay all together, instead of being separated into houses.” He smiled innocently at them, proud of his discovery.

Lance and Hunk exchanged a glance, not needing to speak to know what the other was thinking. Their Gryffindor boyfriend was often hotheaded and grumpy, but when he was happy or proud, he was absolutely adorable. “So spending ALL day together isn’t enough, huh?” Lance said, smirking. 

Keith scowled at him. “We DON’T spend all day together,” he said, “There’s meals at different tables and classes in different rooms. Lance and I have Quidditch practice on different teams, and Hunk’s...off being brilliant or whatever.” Hunk didn’t know if he should be insulted by that. “We only study together, or go out on the lake. We never really get to cu--cuddle.” He said, immediately blushing, and shuffling between his feet. “Or whatever.”

Lance and Hunk couldn’t help it anymore and rushed forward, capturing Keith in a group hug. He froze up like he always did when he was hugged by surprise, but soon melted into it. 

“It’s good,” Hunk said, “Really good. But if we’re going to be cuddling in here, these beds need to be pushed up together.” No sooner had the words left his lips when the beds spun around the room, pushing up once against each other. They all blinked, Lance yelping just slightly in surprise. 

“I’ve never seen it do that before,” Keith said, staring at it.

Lance having re-gained his composure, slowly approached. “I don’t THINK it’s going to bite us,” he said, grabbing the corner post. “Too bad we didn’t bring pajamas or anyth-” No sooner had he said that, three sets of pajamas appeared at the foot of his bed. “I LOVE this place!” Lance said, “I’m never leaving!”

It was Keith’s turn to laugh at how adorable his boyfriend was “Come on, get changed,” he tossed one of the pajama sets at him, “And we can go to bed.”

They all changed in privacy, which the room also provided, and snuggled up on the bed. Lance pushed Keith into the middle, making sure the touch starved boyfriend got all the loving he needed. “Good night,” He whispered softly to them both. 

Hunk and Lance chuckled, each of them kissing a cheek of Keith’s. “Goodnight,” they both whispered back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For this I put Hunk in Hufflepuff and Lance in Ravenclaw just to match up colors. Lance I tend to see as being in just about any hogwarts house, Hunk sometimes wobbles between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, while Keith is the Gryffindoriest Gryffindor to Gryffindor.


	70. Adam/Shiro Trap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam has to get up for a meeting. Shiro is not pleased with this development.

“Shiro.”

“Mm?”

“Shiro, I have a meeting to get to,”

“Mmm….”

“That means I have to get up.”

“Mmm. Mm-mm.”

“That’s not how this works. You can’t just say ‘no.’”

Shiro squeezed Adam, nuzzling into him. With great effort he opened his mouth, “didn’t say no,” he said, “Said ‘mm-mm.”

Adam sighed. “Look, I know we’ve both been busy. But this is an important meeting.”

Shiro groaned. “‘S a stupid meeting.”

Ok, Adam couldn’t argue that. “Maybe. But Admiral Sanda still expects me to go, and I don’t think she’ll accept the excuse that I was snuggling my boyfriend.”

Shiro hummed happily at the word ‘boyfriend.’ Instead of releasing him, Shiro wrapped a leg around Adam, holding him even more securely in place. 

“AAugh,” Adam said, trying to wiggle out to no avail. “Curse your muscles.” Shiro chuckled. “Alright, desperate times call for desperate measures. Shiro, I need to pee.”

Shiro paused, frozen, trying to decide whether to believe him or not. “I’m serious,” Adam said, “I’m going to piss in your bed.”

“Our bed,” Shiro protested with a pout. Adam had only recently moved in, but Shiro was insistent they share the space. 

Adam smiled, turned away from Shiro. If only those cadets that admired Shiro so much could see him now, all drooly and pouty and cute. “No matter who’s bed it is, neither of us are going to sleep in it again if you squeeze urine out of me onto it.”

Shiro groaned, torn with indecisiveness. Finally, he released just a little, just enough for Adam to make his daring escape and run for the bathroom. Turns out he had not been lying after all. 

When he came back into the bedroom, though, he did not return to the bed or within Shiro’s grasp. “Come back,” Shiro whined. 

“You know I can’t do that.” Adam said, going for his uniform, “Don’t make me the bad guy here.”

Shiro pouted. “You’re not the bad guy…” he muttered, “I just want one day to lounge around, not have to worry about the Garrison or real life stuff or anything. Just to be lazy.”

Adam smiled, putting on his uniform. The front pocket was still heavy with his purchase from a few days ago. Thank goodness Shiro never did laundry, there was no way he would ever find it. 

When he was dressed he came back to the side of the bed, leaning over to kiss Shiro on the forehead. “We’ll have plenty of those days yet, alright?” He said, “Just not today.” Shiro grumped, making Adam chuckle. “Get dressed at some point this morning, would you? I want to take you somewhere special tonight, and I don’t think they’ll let you in in that state.”

Shiro groaned. “Fine,” He said, “But this better be good.”

“It will be,” Adam said, smiling to himself again. 

Shiro smiled, and it took a second too long for Adam to realized this wasn’t Shiro’s cute, warm cuddly smile, this was his mischievous ‘you’ve fallen into my trap’ smile.

A moment later, Shiro wrapped his arms and legs around Adam again, lunging like a crocodile when it’s prey mistook it for an innocent log. “TAKASHI NO!” Adam cried out as Shiro turned him, pinning him to the mattress. 

Adam sighed, profoundly uncomfortable. “You’re proud of yourself, aren’t you?”

Shiro beamed from ear to ear. “Mmmmhmmm.”


	71. Lance/Hunk Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunk is away on business, and so Lance must sleep alone.

Lance’s foot shook beneath the covers. Once he realized what it was doing he stopped, but that only made him feel like the energy was all bottled up, ready to burst out his leg. It started with his toes twitching, and then soon enough he was bouncing from ankle down. 

He needed to relax. It was time to sleep. He had his music going, his face mask done, his fan on to keep him cool in the hot summer air...and he couldn’t concentrate for the life of him. 

He turned his head to the side, opening his eyes….only to realize he was still wearing his face mask to block out the little light in his room. He pushed it up and looked to the spot Hunk had evacuated. 

Hunk was off on some fancy engineers tip, and wouldn’t be back for several days. Lance whined into his empty room, looking at the little dent that Hunk’s sleeping pattern had pushed into the mattress. 

Lance didn’t like being alone. There was always a sibling or someone around when he was little, roommates when he went to school, and then there was Hunk. Hunk was one of the few people he’d met who was just as cuddly as he was, and so they were constantly hugging and cuddling. 

At movies, the crook of Hunk’s arm was the perfect spot to rest. At dinner, Lance would hook his foot around Hunk’s. Their favorite dates were about watching tv on the couch so they could find every single comfortable position to their advantage. 

Alone, Lance heard every shift in the house, thinking it was a burglar. He had his cat curled up in her bed nearby (he’d tried to coax her up onto the bed but she was having none of it. Stubborn cat.) But he was on alert, ready to take down anyone who might invade his home. 

Of course, he was perfectly capable of caring for himself. That didn’t stop him from piling up furniture by the door so no one could break in (in violation of several safety codes he was pretty sure.)

And besides that, he just missed Hunk’s cuddles. Sure it could sometimes be awkward. They were both rollers, and a movement from one would no doubt affect the others. The best case scenario was if they managed to fall asleep around the same time so they could roll around to their hearts delight.

Truth be told they didn’t even cuddle that much as they were attempting to fall asleep anymore. It was just a matter of sleeping beside one another, listening to them breath, and loving each other by just being there.

But that didn’t mean Lance didn’t still miss the cuddles. Feeling warm enough, he piled up his comforter beside him, packing it down into a vaguely human shape so he could hold onto it. It had nothing of the warmth of the real Hunk, but it was something. 

He considered giving up on sleep completely, but knew not only would he regret it the next day and the coming week as he tried to fix that schedule, Hunk would be disappointed in him. 

Grumping, he squeezed the blankets tight, and tried all his mental tricks to bore himself to sleep. One lion...two lions...three...lions….four….

 

“Lance,” a voice called him from dreamland, “Lance, wake up.” 

“Fi mo minu, mom….”

“I’m not your mom,” the voice called back, “And you can go back to sleep in a minute, I promise.”

A hand lay on his shoulder. Lance weakly tried to shake it off, refusing to remember who or where he was yet, but the shoulder stayed firm, even shaking him in turn. 

He let his eyes fall open to fall on another set of eyes, hovering over his bet, a nice, pretty pair of dark brown, nearly black, eyes. “Hi baby,” Hunk said, kissing his temple.

The smile spread across Lance’s face like a blossom in spring. “Baby!: he said in his sleepiest voice, “You’re early.”

“Yeah, there were some issues with the equipment,” Hunk said, “I’ll tell you about it tomorrow, but in the meantime, I took an all night flight and I’m really tired, so, can you let go?”

Lance blinked, noting he was still holding the bunched up blankets. “Oh, yeah, here,” he said, releasing them, so Hunk could open it up, encapsulating them both as he took his rightful place beside Lance. “Missed you,” Lance muttered.

“I missed you too,” Hunk said, opening up his arms. Lance was more than happy to wiggle his way into them, resting on Hunk and easily drifting back to sleep.


	72. Lance & Veronica Lightning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 5 year old Lance is scared of thunderstorms, and so runs to Big Sister Veronica.
> 
> Platonic Only.

Tap tap tap tap tap tap

Veronica closed her eyes, finally, having spent longer than she should have reading in bed. It wasn’t a school night, though, so who cared if she stayed up past her bed time. 

But, she WAS tired now. She put the book on her nightstand, joined with her glasses, put away her reading light she kept hidden so her parents wouldn’t catch her reading, lay back, and listened to the gentle sound of rain lightly hammering on her window. 

Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap thump thump thump thump.

Wait a second. That last sound. That wasn’t the rain. That sounded like footsteps. 

Creeeak

She clamped her eyes shut, ignoring the sound of her door opening. No, no, she was asleep, she was totally asleep, please don’t let anyone interrupt her.

“Veronica?”

Even as a loud whisper, she easily could identify the sound of her little brother, Lance. “Are you awake?” He asked, ignoring the fact that whispering was supposed to be quiet.

Veronica grumbled, and mumbled, “No.” 

Lance ignored him, padding further into the room, and then jumped up onto the bed. Veronica grumbled, blinking her eyes open to glare at the small shape in front of her. “What do you WANT?” Veronica said.

Then, Lance sniffled, and Veronica forgot her irritation. “I’m scared,” he whispered, and even with blurry vision she could see the glistening of tears in his eyes.

Sighing, Veronica sat up to do her civic older sister duty. She remembered going into Luis’s room when she was scared, and Luis talked about going to Marco’s. The cycle of siblinghood. “What’s got ya scared?” she asked, trying to not fall asleep instantly. 

Lance sniffled again, “The...the thunder,” Lance said, gasping as another rumble came from outside, “What if--what if we get hit by the lightning! And it takes down our house! And it just sounds like it’s going to eat me or something.”

He tucked himself under Veronica’s blanket, covering his ears to block out the sound. “Make it go away…” he mumbled. 

“Oh, Lance,” Veronica said, “The rain is good! It keeps the plants all watered outside so that all the flowers can grow, and it makes the weather all cooler after, and sometimes there’s a rainbow! And tomorrow, we’ll get to splash in the puddles and everything, and it’s really fun!”

Lance still whined, as another rumble of thunder echoed around the house, “And I know the thunder’s loud,” Veronica said, “But it’s actually really far away, here, come on,” She got him to lean up on the bed to look out the window. He flinched as he saw a strike of lightning in the distance, “It’s ok,” Veronica said, encouragingly, “See, Lightning and Thunder ACTUALLY happen at the same time, but because light travels faster than sound, we can see the lightning before we hear the thunder.”

Lance screwed up his face, confused. Ok, maybe that was a bit much for a 5 year old. “Look, just….just watch for the next bolt of lightning, and then count with me until we hear the thunder.”

He nodded, searching the sky. “There!” He said, spotting the lightning. 

“Ok, count,” Veronica said, “One, two, three, four, five….” They both stopped as the sound of thunder broke over them. “Five seconds. That’s pretty far. Now we can see if the storm is getting closer or further away. 

Lance nodded, determined. They waited a few seconds, scanning the skies, until another burst of lightning flashed. “Another one!” He said, “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight…”

Thunder rolled over them yet again, and Lance smiled. “It’s moving away!”

“That’s right,” Veronica said, even if Lance had kinda counted faster than was probably good for this kind of test. “You think you can do this in your room now?”

Lance looked hesitant again, “Maybe...maybe I can count just a few more here? Please?”

Veronica sighed, knowing for a fact it wouldn’t be ‘just’ a few more. “Alright,” she agreed, reluctantly.

Sure enough, a few lightning flashes later, and Lance was sound asleep in Veronica’s bed. “Sleep tight, little bro,” Veronica said, trying to move him so she could lay down comfortably, “And know that one day, when you are older, you will pay for this.”


	73. Keith/Lance Intelligent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance is up late and decides to text Keith

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know they're kinda cliche by now, but I always wanted to try my hand at chat fics. What better way than a simple oneshot?

**Lance**

U up?

**Keith**

Is this a sext

Are you sexting me?

Because I don’t mind, but my mom might kill you.

**Lance**

It is not a sext, just a question

Which despite you trying to be difficult you’ve answered

**Keith**

Ur welcome

Now why are you awake?

Don’t you need ur beauty sleep?

**Lance**

Not sure if that’s an insult

**Keith**

?

**Lance**

Like I NEED the beauty sleep because I’m...not

**Keith**

Oh

No, not what I meant

But its late and a school night

And I know why I’M up

**Lance**

Why ARE u up?

**Keith**

I asked first

**Lance**

:p

Fine, I can’t sleep

Im stressed

**Keith**

School stuff?

**Lance**

Yeah, mostly

Also just...family

**Keith**

Wym?

**Lance**

Parents stressin me out

Older siblings were all amazing so like

They keep comparing me to them to get me to do stuff

**Keith**

Oh

That definitely sucks

**Lance**

Yeah

**Keith**

You know you’re amazing too, right?

**Lance**

I think you might be biased

**Keith**

OR have u considered

I’m dating you BECAUSE ur amazing?

**Lance**

Stop making me blush

**Keith**

Never

Lance

Keeeeeeeeith

**Keith**

Alright, here goes

You are incredibly intelligent

You’re hard working

And most importantly you’re incredibly kind

**Lance**

I don’t think college admissions care how nice I am

**Keith**

Are you intentionally missing the first two points???

**Lance**

Yup

Believe it when I see it

**Keith**

BOY

**Lance**

Come on, you were there for that class game show we did

Keith

That stupid thing with the guest lecturer?

That Bob guy?

The school just hired him to try and trick people to think learning is fun

**Lance**

Yeah

And I couldn’t get any question right!

**Keith**

Lance, has this been bothering you?

Lance?

**Lance**

Maybe

**Keith**

Lance, there are a lot of types of intelligence

School only tests some of those

Not to mention you KNOW you have learning issues

**Lance**

ADHD and Dyscalcula WUT WUT!!!

**Keith**

Exactly

So its unfair to judge yourself with someone elses standards

**Lance**

I know, I know, ur right

But it’s hard to remember 

Especially when it feels like people are judging me

**Keith**

Bob’s a dick, Lance, don’t listen to him

**Lance**

I’m not talking about Bob I’m talking about YOU

**Keith**

What?!

Me?!

**Lance**

Don’t you remember that last question?

Where we were supposed to choose someone who could be excused from the next round?

**Keith**

Yeah

I chose you!

**Lance**

Exactly!

You said…

Said you didn’t want to be stuck with me….

**Keith**

Oh

Oh Lance

I didn’t mean it like that

**Lance**

Look I get it

You don’t have to make excuses

**Keith**

No, Lance!

I meant it as a joke! Like ribbing and stuff!

Lance

It didn’t sound like a joke

**Keith**

I know, I just…

I was angry

The real reason I chose you was ‘cause if Bob picked on you one more time…

I was going to lose it

**Lance**

But see? Thats just as bad!

I don’t need you protecting me!

My own boyfriend doesn’t even believe I can do stuff like that

So what good am I?

**Keith**

First of all, Lance, I’m sorry.

I’m so, so sorry I had no idea I was hurting you

Second, Lance that quiz thing proves NOTHING

It put us all on the spot

And like I said, Bob was an ASS

The more he picked on you, the worse you fumbled. That’s a natural reaction

That’s why I wanted you out of there. 

Besides, lets face it, I didn’t do much better at the drawing section

**Lance**

It WAS pretty bad

**Keith**

Also, next time I hurt you like that?

Please tell me right away instead of stressing about it

You know I love you a lot, and I can’t apologize if I don’t know what I did.

**Lance**

It’s really fine, I know you didn’t mean it

**Keith**

Lance….

**Lance**

Okok I’ll tell you

Btw, why ARE you awake?

**Keith**

Oh, I just got caught up in watching some alien documentaries

**Lance**

…….

Send me the link


	74. Lance/Allura Baby Steps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Allura sit beside one another during their bus trip to Disney world, and Allura wakes up in a peculiar situation.

Well so much for the party bus.

When they had all signed up for the marching band trip to Disney world, (a 17 hour long drive) they’d all giggled and decided they would eat boatloads of sugar and put on music and party their whole way way down to Florida.

That had failed spectacularly a little after midnight when they’d all crashed. Not the bus!! Just the people inside it.

Allura didn’t even remember falling asleep. She remembered giggling madly at Lance’s jokes, but now was unsure if it was because they were funny or she was just overtired. 

She woke up at the sound of the doors opening. There was no way they were there yet. It took a few moments as her brain processed they were probably stopping to switch drivers, and for whoever was awake to use the bathroom at the gas station. 

The bus around them was quiet, the music had stopped, and the cold window provided her pillow ratttling against her skull. And something….something was on her chest.

With Herculean effort she blinked her eyes open, taking in the dim street lights. She looked down and realized what the feeling was.

Lance’s head was resting on her sternum. She blushed heavily, seeing how close he was, lying practically on her breast.

She was decently sure it wasn’t intentional in his part. For one, his position didn’t seem comfortable enough for him to have decided to rest there. Far more likely, he had fallen asleep sitting up, and slowly slipped down until he hit his resting point. Most likely he’d be just as embarrassed as she was.

However, she didn’t feel any particular motivation to move him. She knew he had a crush on her for a long time, though he liked to pretend he was over it. And sure he’d been...kinda an asshole about it back in freshman year, but he’d matured since then. Especially after she had chewed him out once during band practice.

Recently, though, he’d been a bit more sheepish. He was as friendly and kind as ever, the both of them laughing together and just talking, about nothing and everything. She caught him blushing and staring just a bit, when he thought she wasn’t looking.

And worse...she’d started staring back.

Once you got past the bravado, Lance was a genuine person, friendly, and clearly thought the world of his friends. He was amazing at cheering people up when they were down, and protecting people he cared for most. Allura had come to admire that about him.

She knew he was struggling to properly ask her out without a) ruining their friendship, and b) coming off as creepy again, a tricky line to walk. She often thought she needed to ask him herself….but she was still nervous about it. Even when she KNEW he returned her feelings, just the idea of putting it on the line terrified her.

Her friends were becoming exasperated. Romelle had written on a paper and shoved in her face the words ‘he likes you!’ And her response was ‘but what if I’m just reading into it?’

There had been a resounding round of head’s slamming on tables after that one. 

She HAD taken the baby step of asking him to sit next to her on the bus. If they went together at Disney as well, they’d probably end up spending a full 24 hours together. And hopefully something had to happen with that...right?

Allura pulled herself out of her rabbit hole of thoughts to the sound of people returning from the bathroom. Romelle passed her, eyes connecting with Allura as she gave a knowing smirk. Allura blushed again, looking away.

She wished she hadn’t. Her eyes then locked with Veronica’s, and she seemed less amused at how close she was with her baby brother. She swallowed, guilty, but Veronica passed her by. She could still feel the icy glare, though. 

Hiding from it, she closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep. 

When she woke up again, Lance was off her chest, and talking quietly with Hunk and Pidge across the aisle. He turned as she adjusted. “Morning, sleeping beauty,” He said, with just the tiniest of blushes on his cheeks showing he had woken up on her and probably didn’t want her to know.

“Morning,” she mumbled, rubbing her eyes. “How far are we?”

“Not far now,” Lance said, “maybe an hour away? Here, have a granola bar.” He handed it to her, and she mumbled a ‘thanks.’ “Listen, Hunk and Pidge here are WIMPS who don’t even want to go to Space Mountain with me.”

“We’re not wimps,” Hunk protested, “There’s just way too much of a line to make it worth it.”

“Whatever,” Lance waved off Hunks concerns, “Would you like to go with me?”

She smiled at him. “Sure,” She said, “sounds fun.”

Lance beamed.

Well, it might not technically be a date, but Space Mountain was something! Baby steps, Allura. Baby steps. 

And don’t piss off his sister because she was pretty sure she might get killed in her sleep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based off me and my first boyfriend. Maybe Lance and Allura will be less awkward...probably not.


	75. Hunk/Shay Bear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunk encounters dangerous beasts in the forest, but is saved by someone unlikely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IDK I was doing D&D stuff and felt in a lycanthropic mood.

See, this is why Hunk hated camping. Actually, no, he could never have pictured this. 

He had not been expecting to come across a monster in the woods, beasts with purple fur and drooling mouths, ready to chase him down. Hunk suddenly wished he did more running in school. Curses, Iverson would definitely say ‘I told you so’ at his funeral. 

But then, just before he was ready to give up the ghost, a bear had come plowing through the forest, grabbing the purple beasts by the scruff and tossing them against trees. The purple wolf-cat creatures fought back, snapping at the bear, making her roar into the forest. 

The injuries only made the bear angrier, though, growling at the beasts and bearing its teeth. The beasts finally got the message, and ran away.

Honestly, Hunk was just about ready to run away with them. As grateful as he was, he could only think that he had jumped out of the teeth-and-claw filled frying pan, into the bigger teeth-and-claw filled fire. 

But when the bear turned to him, it wasn’t bearing it’s teeth anymore. It almost looked smaller now that it wasn’t puffing itself up. 

And then...Hunk noticed something in the bears fur. Around the bear was some ripped fabric, unrecognizable now, whatever it was. But on the bear’s ears were a pair of earrings. Very familiar hoop earrings. 

“Shay?” Hunk asked, not really able to believe it. Somehow his long-time crush becoming a bear made more sense than a random bear stealing her earrings and trying them on. 

If he had any doubts (which he did, he had so many) they were put to rest as the bear leaned forward, giving him a gentle headbutt. “Hey…” Hunk said, hesitantly patting the bear on her head. 

The bear groaned, making Hunk jump, but soon he saw that the bites that the purple beasts had made looked deep. Shay was panting, leaning against Hunk, which was no small thing given she was currently a good thousand pounds or so. “Ok, ok, um,” He looked around, “Don’t you have like, a lair or a den or something nearby?”

She blinked slowly and slowly trudged away. Hunk hoped that meant ‘yes’ and followed. 

Shay lead him to a cave, and slumped on the cave floor, still groaning. Hunk’s natural instincts of ‘don’t stand so close to predators’ were going haywire, but he resisted to try and examine her wounds. “Yikes, that….that could use some cleaning or something…” he said, unsure if Shay could even understand him.

He reached into his bacpack and got his waterbottle. He tried to figure something out for a second, but lacking any other options, took off his jacket. “Ok, don’t kill the healer,” he said, leaning over her.

He poured water over the wound, making her roar out in pain, and Hunk in turn to yelp in fear. “Calm down, calm down,” he urged, and she slumped again, clearly still uncomfortable. “Thats it...you got this...I got this...it’s ok…” and he used his jacket to try and put pressure on the wound. Shay growled again, but stayed still.

“So…” Hunk said, “You’re a bear.” Shay didn’t respond. Obviously. Oops. 

“Well, you seem to have some sense of awareness,” Hunk said, trying to figure out how to to wrap a wound on a bear. Should he call a vet? Or something? How did he explain this. “Is this like a shapeshifter deal? Or like, a were….bear? Instead of a werewolf...ok.”

Shay growled, moving her head more comfortably. 

Hunk reached out his hand. He nearly pulled it back before scratching her head. She murmured again, and leaned into the scratch. 

Hunk sighed, his fear slowly ebbing away. “We have….a LOT to talk about tomorrow, I think. I hope you can change back. This could be a Brave situation and you could be cursed or something.”

Shay grumbled, leading him to think it wasn’t true. “Mk. So you’ll shift back.” He tried picking the dried blood out of her fur. “I don’t mind, by the way. I mean, the circumstances aren’t ideal, really. But it doesn’t bug me.”

He settled down. “You’re fur is actually pretty comfy,” he said, resting against her. “I mean that in the least poacher-y way possible. Just.” He put his head on her. “Hey, if you turn back human tomorrow, are you going to be naked? Because if so, I’m already really, really sorry.”

Shay growled again, which Hunk hoped meant it was ok. He put his head on her large shoulder. “Good night.”


	76. Thace/Ulaz Bedside Manner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thace is recovering from being shot, and Ulaz is determined to take care of him, whether he likes it or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M BACK BABY!!! Sorry for hiatus, was visiting home for my birthday
> 
> This is part of a fic I'm working on for these guys that....someday I'll publish. Someday.

“Sit back down.”

“I’m fine,” Thace said, using his IV stand as a cane, “I got this, I’m fine, I’m--I’m not fine!” He said, panic in his eyes as he started falling backwards onto the hospital bed. 

Ulaz watched Thace fall onto his bed, clutching the IV stand like a teddy bear. When he bounced on the thin mattress, Ulaz grabbed the stand and pulled it out of his hand, sticking it back on the floor and making sure it wasn’t damaged. “One of these days, you’ll listen to me,” he said, grumping. 

“Wouldn’t hold your breath on that,” Thace said, massaging his shoulder, trying desperately to itch under his bandages, “I just wanted to damn piss on my own. The injury’s not even in my legs, why aren’t I allowed to walk.”

“Because you’re under an absurd amount of pain medication,” Ulaz said, pulling at Thace’s legs to get him situated properly on the bed. He was still way too far down on the mattress, but it was a start. “You know, on account of the hole sticking out of your shoulder.”

It was Thace’s turn to grump. “Has anyone told you that you’re bedside manner needs work?”

“You,” Ulaz answered, “Daily.” He offered his hand, and Thace took it, letting himself be re-adjusted so he lay on the bed properly.

Ulaz broke from his cold demeanor to brush hair out of Thace’s face, fingers lightly stroking along his forehead and cheeks. The feeling was soothing, getting Thace to flutter his eyes closed. Or maybe that was the absurd amount of pain medication. “Mk,” Thace muttered, “You’re getting better.”

“I am a doctor,” Ulaz said, softly, pressing a kiss to Thace’s forehead. 

Thace smirked, “This standard treatment?”

“I’m not YOUR doctor,” Ulaz said, looking down at him fondly. 

Thace smirked, “So it’s SPECIAL treatment,” which got Ulaz to chuckle, looking over his shoulder to make sure no one was coming in through the door, and kissed him on the lips. 

Thace smiled genuinely now, reaching up with his good arm to hold him closer. Soon, though, his discomfort put him off even this simple pleasure, “Ulaz...I really hate to ruin the moment, but uh,” he swallowed, “I really need to pee.”

Ulaz didn’t look disgusted, just stood up with all his medical determination and went to get a bedpan. “Oh, no, come on,” Thace said, “I don’t wanna use that thing.”

“This is what you’ve been using this whole time,” Ulaz said.

“Yeah, but that was when I was so drugged out I didn’t know my own name, let alone the fact I was pissing my own bed,” he said, blush rising in his cheeks, “I just. Can’t you help me to the bathroom?”

Ulaz looked at him pityingly. Thace hated when he did that. It was when he was serious Thace knew to be worried. “I don’t want you getting hurt again,” Ulaz said, “Come on, lift your legs.”

Awkwardly, Ulaz put the pan into position. He was kind enough to step out of the room while Thace did his business, feeling humiliated. Ulaz came back in a moment later, pulling out the dirtied bedpan, “Oh, hey, come on,” Thace said, “Let the nurses do that.”

“Sorry, did I just hear you WANT to be sitting in your own piss?” Ulaz asked. Well, at least they were back to the gentle jabs. That let Thace know this was more normal, “Come on, I’m a doctor, I assure you I’ve dealt with grosser stuff.”

He took the pan away to clean. A minute later, he returned, surprising Thace by actually getting into the bed with him and cuddling beside him. The bed was hardly made for one person, let alone two, but Ulaz made it work best he could. “You know, for not being my doctor, you’re pretty determined to take care of me.”

Ulaz smiled, warmly looking at the bandage. “You took a bullet for me.”

Thace paled. “I didn’t. I mean, It wasn’t like--I’m a soldier, Ulaz, it’s my job.” Ulaz raised an eyebrow doubtfully. “You’re the medic, you’re more important to the squad. It’s my job to protect you.”

Ulaz hummed, adjusting his grip on Thace. “Well, if you don’t WANT me caring for you…”

“Now I didn’t say that,” Thace said, wrapping his good arm around him. “All I’m saying is me pissing my pants is not usually my idea of a good date.”

Ulaz smirked. “You’ll make it up to me,” he said, reaching up to kiss him on the lips.


	77. Lance/Lotor Plane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Lotor go on a flight, and Lotor reveals one of his fears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timezones are evil and jetlag is real

“Oh my god,” Lance said, reclining his chair, “I’m never going in coach again.”

Lotor smirked, but clutched the armchair anyway. “Glad to help,” he said, teeth clenched.

Lance raised one eyebrow, looking at him. “You alright? He asked, settling into the cushions. This was easily the most comfortable he’d ever been on a plane, “We haven’t even taken off yet.”

“Mmhmm,” Lotor muttered, watching the passengers pass them by.

Lance gave up on subtlety and flicked Lotor in the head. “Wha--ow!” Lotor said, massaging the side of his head, “What the hell?”

“What’s goin on in that silver head of yours?” He asked.

Lotor huffed, in the way that told Lance his pride was getting in the way of admitting his problems, but Lance’s persistence would break down his walls. “I just have some...anxiety on planes.”

Lance frowned at him. Lotor looked over several times. “What?”

“Sorry, it’s just…” he blinked, “You’re training to be a PILOT, Lotor.”

Lotor sighed, “I don’t mind as much when I’m in control,” he said, “When I can see the readouts and know the obstacles and be able to handle them myself,” he swallowed, looking over at the flight attendants standing at the front and inviting people on board. “And I don’t like having to trust some timezone-disturbed plebians.”

One of the flight attendants heard, and looked over, scowling. Lance did his best not to chuckle to himself. “You really need to work on not insulting people when you’re nervous.”

Lotor grumped, “Fine.”

Lance put a hand over his, stroking the nerve lines beneath his skin. “It’s alright. Accidents on planes are rare.”

“I’m a pilot, Lance,” Lotor snapped, “I know the statistics.”

Lance stayed silent, weaving his fingers through Lotor’s fingers. Lotor took a deep breath. “I’m sorry,” he said to Lance, “I shouldn’t take it out on you.”

Lance reached over and plucked out his bag. “You’re forgiven,” Lance said, taking out his headmask and headphones, “Here, put these on.”

“These are yours,” Lotor said, holding them gingerly.

“And you need them,” Lance said, pushing them on him, “Go on, the mask has some nice cooling gel in it, should help to calm you down. And I’ve got a whole buttload of relaxing sounds and melodies. What calms you down?”

Lotor gave just the tiniest smile, turning to him. “You,” Lotor said, “Your voice.”

Lance tried to repress the giant smile growing on his face, but it was no use. He leaned over and pressed a kiss to Lotor’s cheek. “Charmer.”

“You say that like its a bad thing,” Lotor said. 

Lance smirked, going through sounds on his phone, “Here,” he said, “Try this playlist.”

He put the headphones over Lotor’s ears, and Lotor listened to a soft spanish guitar start to play. It was soon joined by a singer, singing in spanish. It was clearly not Lance’s voice, but it reminded him of Lance, and the way Lance would sometimes sing for him. He closed his eyes and felt his muscles relaxing.

Lance put the mask in front of his eyes. The sounds of the music drowned out the pilots voice as the plane started up, rolling to prepare for takeoff.

Lotor inhaled sharply, feeling the plane pickup speed. Lance held his hand, giving him a little squeeze. The armrests between them were too thick for him to lean over, but Lotor still pushed slightly towards him. 

He was asleep by the time the seatbelt sign turned off.


	78. Keith & "Jack" Echos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack spends his first night as a single parent

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ANGST ANGST ANGST I CRIED WHILE WRITING IT, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

“Shh, shhhh,” Jack begged, bouncing Keith in his arms, “It’s ok, it’s ok little Keith, just please, quiet down.”

Keith paid him no mind, wailing his tiny little lungs out. Jack was glad for the millionth time he had no neighbors. Usually he was just happy that he didn’t have anyone around to bother him, he’d always been kind of a loner. Until recently, anyway. 

Krolia had packed light, leaving behind the myriad of possessions she had gathered in her time on Earth around the house. Jack had bought most of them, until Krolia had found the wonders of internet shopping. Now they just sat there, like echoes. 

“The first night’s always the hardest,” Jack told Keith, pacing back and forth in the house full of echoes, “I remember in 11th grade, Jodie Martin asked me to prom. Can you even imagine? Your old man, going to prom like some high school sitcom.”

Keith sobbed all the louder, wriggling and trying to crawl out of Jack’s arms. He was a strong little bugger, no doubt a result of his mother’s DNA. Usually he was quiet too, like Jack, but today he showed how loud he could really be. 

“Anyway,” Jack continued with his story like Keith could understand, re-adjusting his grip, “Turns out Jodie was just trying to get back at her ex-boyfriend. I’ll tell ya, I went full teenage angst that night. I didn’t even like Jodie that much, but the betrayal and the heartbreak….it was a lot, even back then.” He held Keith with one hand, wiping a rogue tear from his eye, threatening to break loose. 

“The point is,” Jack said, “You’re a lot smaller than I was then, so it makes sense this heartbreak is so hard for you to deal with. So...I guess its ok for you to cry. Cry all that heartbreak out.”

Keith took his advice rather well, the back of his throat red and raw, that even Jack could see through his wailing mouth. The sound itself was turning slightly demonic. And Jack was tired. He was so, so tired.

He sat on the edge of his bed, still bouncing Keith. “Mama,” Keith whined, “Mama, Mama,”

That did it, Jack couldn’t hold it in any longer. His tears broke free, streaming down his face. And he couldn’t even wipe them away, because now that he was sitting, Keith was struggling all the more. “I know, baby,” he said, “I know, I miss her too.

“But we’re going to be okay,” he nodded, trying to convince the infant, “You and me...Heck, I’ve been on my own since I was 18, and ran from home. Don’t do that, by the way. You and me, we’re all we got left in this big ole’ universe.” 

Keith’s throat seemed to be getting sore, but he was determined to cry through it. Jack set him in his crib, going to get some baby food. Hopefully it would soothe his throat, maybe even get him relaxed so he could sleep. Damn, Jack really needed sleep. 

He’d already called in to take off from work the next day. He needed it, to set up some kind of daycare for Keith to go to while he was working. Krolia, holed up in the house, had been his primary caretaker his whole life. Now Jack would have to be both caretaker and breadwinner. 

He’d also need the day to clean up this damn house. Why did Krolia like magazines so much? They were hardly indicative of Earth life, but she loved them, read every article, down to the trashiest tabloid. They were everywhere and they haunted him. 

By the time he got back to his room, Keith had crawled out of his crib. Damn, he was an agile little kid. He’d made it all the way over to the bed, though he couldn’t climb up on his own. He was trying his best, grabbing the covers in tiny fists to pull himself up. With an aching heart, Jack realized he was reaching for Krolia’s pillows. 

“Can you smell her, baby?” Jack said, picking him up and putting him on Krolia’s pillow. She’d once told him Galra had heightened scents. Keith faceplanted on the pillow, which was equal parts adorable, sad, and downright frightening. 

Jack leapt foreward adjusting Keith so he could clutch the pillow and breath at the same time. He was a bit old for SIDS but it scared Jack none the less. 

He rubbed Keith’s back, letting the whimpers and whines die down. “Mama,” Keith croaked out. 

“Mama loves you Keith,” Jack reassured him, “Mama loves you so much. We’ll see her again someday,” he said, unsure if he meant it. 

Keith crawled over to his dad for warmth, “Dada,” he said.

Jack smiled weakly, plucking him up to cradle him in his arms. “Dada loves you too, Keith. Mama and Dada will always love you.”

He raised a spoon to Keith’s lips, and reluctantly, Keith took it. The house was finally quiet, save for the small smacks of Keith’s mouth around the spoon. “Dada’s here for you,” Jack whispered, “Dada will take care of you now.”


	79. Keith & Pidge Dog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge is rudely awakened by Cosmo, and demands Keith take care of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *shrug* was in a Keith and Pidge mood. I suppose this could be romantic or platonic depending on your reading

It was a well known fact that Pidge didn’t sleep much. Granted, when she did, she slept for a while, which was probably a dangerous sign for her body chemistry. 

But she had managed to sleep tonight, which is why she was so annoyed by the fact she was suddenly woken up by something large and fluffy climbing on her back.

“Aaaaaugh,” she muttered, “Wha the--” the large fluffy thing squirmed around until it lay down, panting in her ear. “Kosmo?” she muttered, “What are you doing here?”

Kosmo did not respond, which was comforting, but he did lick her ear, which was significantly less comforting. Groaning, Pidge reached over for her communicator. “Keeeeeeeeeiiith,” She whined to it, “Come get your dog.” 

On the other end of the line, she heard a great deal of grumbling. Keith was like her in that he rarely slept, but once he was out he was dead to the world. Honestly it was a miracle she’d gotten him awake at all. But Pidge was a little sibling of many talents, and the primary thing she knew was how to be as annoying as humanly possible. 

She clicked the communicator button over and over so it would ping, “Keith Keith KEith KEIth KEITH!”

The grumbling on the other end of the line got higher and louder and resulted in a great deal of thumping she was too tired to identify what it was. Finally, she heard the dulcet sounds she’d been looking for: “Shu up I’m comin” all slurred together.

Pidge waited patiently. Pidge had never waited patiently for anything in her life, and pinged Keith every few seconds to remind him to keep his butt moving. Kosmo panted in her ear, putting his cold nose on her skin that made her jump, though not enough to push him off. No, as it turned out, the giant space wolf was more than adept at keeping her pretty still, splayed out on her own bed.

Maybe she really did need to do more pushups….

Finally, her door slid open, and a half-dead Keith wandered in, hair a mess, and what seemed to be 50-pound bags under his eyes. “Come here, boy,” Keith still refused to use the name his friends had given the dog, “Come on, lets go.”

Cosmo whined, nuzzling up to Pidge and accidentally crushing her more. Keith sighed. “Come on, you want a treat? You want a stick or something?”

Cosmo whined again, sniffing at her hair, and even licking it. Keith came over and sniffed too. “Is this some bonding ritual between you guys?” Pidge asked, “Because I am not a fan.”

“Do you have peanut butter shampoo or something?” Keith asked.

“What?” Pidge said, “What the heck--who makes PEANUT BUTTER shampoo???”

“I don’t know,” he said leaning down, “But your hair smells like peanut butter.”

Pidge thought back to earlier in the day, “Hunk was making some peanut butter cookies, and I was helping them. I think...yeah, some got in my hair. I thought I got it all out, though.”

“You definitely didn’t,” he said, “And he seems to like it.” Cosmo’s tail wagged, beating against Pidge’s legs.

Pidge groaned, “Can you just get him off before I suffocate?”

Keith sighed, and tried wrapping his arms around the dog. “Come on, lets go, boy.”

Cosmo doubled down, holding his ground. Pidge could have sworn in her sleep-hazy state that his little whine translated to ‘fuck you.’

Keith pulled with all his might, and Pidge felt better about her lack of muscles. If Keith couldn’t do it with all his training, no way Pidge could. 

Suddenly the pressure from behind her was gone. In a flash, Cosmo and Keith had disappeared. Right. Teleportation. She still wanted to know how he did that. 

She turned over on her back, Wherever they had gone, it was Keith’s problem now. She could finally rest and get back to sleep. 

With a resounding THUMP the pressure returned, as Cosmo and Keith dropped onto her from out of thin air. She groaned as the wind was knocked out of her, Keith rolling one way, Cosmo the other, now snout-to-nose with her and fascinated by her hair yet again. 

With the both of them laying there, they had her pinned inside her blanket like a burrito. “Keith,” she mumbled, “Keith getoffme.”

She heard a snore beside her. Damn him, he’d goddamn gone to sleep.

Sighing, she tried to adjust herself under the blanket, trying to ignore the sounds of snoring and panting and the tight blankets around her so she could sleep too.


	80. Acxa/Veronica Scary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Veronica is trying to intimidate Allura on their Disney trip. Acxa helps out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continuation of the Lance/Allura Bus chapter, but now with different perspective

“You guys don’t mind, do you?” Allura asked them, hesitant smile on her face, “I mean, we can figure something else out if you want, but, you know, Romelle and I know each other.”

Veronica still glared at her. She liked Allura, she did, but she was protective as heck for Lance. Lance who had a crush on Allura for several years, that Allura was only now beginning to return. Acxa grabbed Veronica’s shoulder and pulled her back. “Yeah, it’s fine, we’ll be fine.”

The four of them were sharing a room for their trip to disney, and the room had two beds, which meant they had to split up in pairs. Axca pulled Veronica toward one of the beds, as Romelle and Allura whispered quietly to each other. Romelle seemed to decide something, turning to the other two. “We’re going to go find the vending machines, do you guys want anything?

Veronica glared because she was in protective older sibling mode. Axca glared because...well because that was her nature. Romelle and Allura took that as their hint to leave. 

“You’re not good at this whole intimidating thing,” Acxa said, arranging her belongings at her bedside.

Veronica turned around, arms crossed so tight she looked ready to pop. “Excuse me?” she asked.

Acxa shrugged, “Just saying. Sure, you’ve got that older sibling power for now, but soon she’s going to get over that and just shrug you off, and you’ll seem just like a whiny nerd. Which...you kinda are.”

Veronica frowned like she’d just swallowed a lemon. “I don’t need your advice.”

Acxa raised her eyebrows, with just the tiniest smirk that said ‘Don’t say I didn’t warn you.’

Veronica twisted away and thought for a second. “But….IF I asked for your advice, what would you say?”

Acxa pulled a giant book from her bag and lay back on her side of the bed. “Well,” she said, “First, you need to have a goal in mind. Just ‘Be scary’ is bound to fail eventually, if you don’t give her something to be scared OF.” Acxa looked over her book. “So what do you want? You want her to leave Lance alone?”

“No!” Veronica said, “I...look, I like Allura. She’s nice and popular and pretty, and maybe one of the few people who’d be able to deserve Lance.” 

Acxa raised an eyebrow, curious, “Yeah, she’s a real Disney Princess. So. What do you want?”

Veronica pursed her lips. “I just...I want her to treat him well. Lance is--well, he’s a dweeb, but he’s a good kid, and he...he’s been really hung up on Allura for a while, maybe longer than she knows. So if she’s showing interest, I want to make sure its the real deal, you know?”

Acxa chuckled, “Wow, you are REALLY going about this wrong,” she said. Veronica scowled at her, “If it’s about treating him right, you want her to like you. You want her to think you are the biggest fan of their relationship, so that if it fails, it will be a huge disappointment to you. And if it fails because of HER? You’ll rain down hellfire.”

The crease in Veronica’s brow eased. “That’s...actually really smart.” she said. Acxa grinned clearly saying ‘I know.’ “Thank you.”

Acxa shrugged, leaning back and getting comfortable, “Yeah whatever, McClain.”

Veronica lay back into the other side, feeling the warmth coming from her. “Do you use tactics like that? I mean, to try and scare people?”

Acxa chuckled, “No. I’m scary all on my own.”

Veronica wasn’t sure if she was supposed to laugh at that, so she managed a slight chuckle. “What are you reading?” 

She never expected to chat idly with Acxa, and yet, here they were acting like good friends. Something clicked in the back of Veronica’s mind. They were so different...but here it felt like they fit together so easily. Maybe she was getting ahead of herself, but...there it was. 

Allura and Romelle came in, hesitant. “Hey!” Veronica smiled at them, “Whatcha got there?”

Allura swallowed, nervous. “Uh...some chips and cookies….and a soda.”

“Oh, nice, salt and vinegar.” Veronica said, “That’s my favorite.”

Allura looked utterly confused. “You...you want some?”

“If you’re offering,” Veronica said, cheerily.

Allura opened the bag and offered it to Veronica. Veronica took a handful, while Allura went back to her side, in a daze. 

Veronica exchanged a sneaky glance with Acxa. Acxa gave her an approving nod, clearly amused.


	81. Allura/Romelle Tulip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allura, Princess of the Fairies, is disturbed from her rest by an unexpected visitor

Tulips were Allura’s favorite to sleep in. The petals curled around her, creating a comforting shelter. Her wings were pillowed beneath her as she nestled in the pollen.The pollen would cling to her, and she’d carry it from flower to flower in her later travels, like a humble bumblebee. 

Well, maybe not all that humble. 

Still, she’d had a long day as leader of the fairies, and dealing with the humans. It was far too tiring, being princess. But the day was over, so now she settled into the dewdrops.

The first sign something was wrong was a high pitch noise. To a human, it might be so high they couldn’t hear it, but Allura heard that small little noise. It sounded like someone was screaming.

Allura was instantly on alert, ready to spring into action, but before she could get out of her flower, something landed in it. Or rather, someone. 

Allura coughed as a puff of pollen exploded around her. She had to take a moment, clearing her eyes and nose. She heard the sound of someone else coughing and grunting. When she could finally open her eyes, she saw another fairy, laid out flat on the stem, even as the flower shook around them. “Who are you?” she asked.

The strange fairy jerked her head up. She was blonde, wearing all pink, with a pair of little blue marks beneath her eyes. “Oh! Oh goodness!” she said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to fall on you! Well, truth be told, I didn’t mean to fall at all!” She struggled to get to her feet, but the tulip didn’t provide much room and she ended up falling forward again. Allura reached out, catching her before she could fall on her face again.

“You’re leg,” Allura said, looking down, “I think you’ve twisted your ankle.”

“Of course I did,” She sighed, “This just--this is NOT my day.” They both looked up, eyes connecting. 

Allura felt caught in them, like a magic spell had connected them both. She might have felt out of control, but this was her home, and this girl was in HER arms. She had the control here, she just….voluntarily gave it away. 

The blonde girl’s eyes widened, “You--You’re Princess Allura!” she said, amazed.

Allura smiled just slightly, “You have me at the advantage.”

“Oh!” the blonde said, “I’m Romelle, from the southern field. I was traveling up north to visit my brother, Bandor, but I hit something, like a bird, but made of metal and held up by these spinning fans.”

Allura sighed, “That’ll be Pidge’s drone. Pidge is a human that lives nearby, a friend of the fairies, but also very curious and trying to learn more about the magical world.”

Romelle nodded in understanding, “Ah, well. Glad to know metal birds haven’t moved in to attack,” she said, trying to right herself, “I’ll get out of your petals then, Your highness---Ah!” 

She attempted to stand, even using her wings to help her up, but she only fell again, Allura having to hold her, the both of their faces even closer together. Allura could see all the little pinpricks of pollen on her cheeks. “Why don’t you stay here for the night?” Allura suggested. 

Romelle blushed as bright a pink as her dress, “Oh, I couldn’t! You--you’re the princess! I wouldn’t want to impose!”

“It’s completely alright,” she said, “It’s my duty to help those in need, and you seem to be in need at the moment.” Allura carefully laid them both onto the pollen pillow, the pollen finally having settled, and leaned Romelle against the tulip petals. “You’ll be safe here.”

Romelle smiled meekly, “I don’t know how to even begin to thank you, Your Highness.”

“Please,” Allura said, “Just Allura is fine.”

Romelle blushed again, “Allura,” she repeated with a nod.

“And you can thank me by telling me about yourself,” she said, “I haven’t been to the southern fields as often, I hear it’s very different.”

“Oh, yes,” Romelle said, “I ran into a pack of Yelmier’s today up here, and I’d never seen even one before! I have to say, the entire experience was rather frightening, although I did end up being able to ride one on it’s back.”

“Really?” Allura asked, “That sounds incredible!”

They talked until the last bit of sunlight left for the night, and fell asleep practically on top of one another, cuddled together in the Tulip Petals.


	82. Lance/Lotor Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lotor is made to look after Lance's niece and nephew, and properly panics.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I did a Lance/Lotor chapter recently, but I hope it's ok with everyone ;)

“Hey, babe, Veronica’s going to pick some things up at the market, so I’m going to be helping mom in the kitchen. Can you watch the kids for a minute?”

“Uhhh,” Lotor muttered, eyes going wide.

“Thanks babe!” Lance said, diving back into the kitchen.

Like a white girl in a horror film, Lotor turned to the two little demons children. They stared up at him with wide eyes that seemed too big for their faces. Both of them had brown eyes, and were a little darker than Lance himself, but the eye shape was the same, Lotor could tell. 

One of them blinked at him. “Can we play race cars, Mr. Lotor?”

Lotor raised an eyebrow. “Uh, sure?”

That was a mistake. Soon, Lotor was sitting on the couch as 2 children circled him on the floor, making little “Vrrrrooooooom!” noises as they chased each other, pushing toy cars on the carpet. Lotor pulled his knees up to his chin, afraid if he put a foot down it would be run over by the wheels, or worse the children themselves. There felt like more than two of them. 

The ‘fun’ suddenly stopped when the two children crashed into each other. “You did that on purpose!” one said.

“No I didn’t!” the other whined just to be contrary, “You hit ME that’s mean and I’ll tell Abuelita!”

“Uhh, children,” Lotor piped up, instantly regretting it as they turned their tiny wrath on him. “Don’t fight.” They frowned at him. “It’s wrong.” he elaborated. 

Now, if Lotor had ever done something like this as a child, he would have been sent to his room without food, mostly so his father didn’t have to deal with him any more. Maybe even hit with a crop if he was being watched by his nanny. But after many horrified looks from Lance as he spoke about his childhood, he’d come to realize that wasn’t necessarily ‘good’ childcare, so he was completely at a loss as to what to do when both children seemed to explode into a mix of English and Spanish complaints, angrily pointing at each other as the culprit. 

He had to come up with something fast. He didn’t want Lance coming in to see how he’d made his niece and nephew cry. Dammit, where was the children’s off switch. “Alright, alright!” Lotor said, “No more playing racecars!” He angrily stood up, and took both toys, putting them back in the toychest. 

Both children instantly started crying. Why, WHY did Lance think he could do this. Alright, what did children like? What did he do as a kid? “How about we read some books!” he said, grabbing one off the shelf at random, “Nice, quiet reading.” He handed it to the boy.

The boy looked up, confused. “That’s too big for me!” he said. Lotor looked at the cover he chose. Oh. Maybe a biography of Groggery the Third wasn’t great reading material for children.

“Ok...try...this!” he handed over the thinnest book he could find, The hungry, hungry caterpillar.

“That’s too little!” the boy countered. 

“Well you choose one then!” Lotor shot back. 

They stared blankly. Neither of them had thought of that. They went through the shelves as Lotor retreated to his couch with a sigh. Children. 

Soon, he was disturbed by a poking on his leg. “Uncle Lotor?” the little girl said, “Can you read this one to me? Some of the words are too big, but it’s about dwarves and magic and stuff!” She handed over ‘The Hobbit’ to him. He blinked slightly but gently took the book. ‘Uncle Lotor?’ did the children think he and Lance were married? He...he didn’t know what to think about that.

The girl climbed up on Lotor’s lap. The boy (he really needed to learn their names) sat on his legs, alerting Lotor he was going to lose feeling there soon. “Chapter 1,” he said, after having opened the book, “An Unexpected Party.”

They got through three chapters, with much harrassment about Lotor doing ‘the voices’ and Lotor had not felt so self-conscious of his vocal cords in his life, when Lotor realized there hadn’t been much criticism in a little while. He looked over the book to see both the boy and girl had fallen asleep, pinning him to the couch. 

He put the book on the side table, feeling silly. What was he supposed to do now?

Luckily he was saved as a pair of arms wrapped around his neck, and he felt the comfortable weight of Lance on his shoulders, as he leaned down to kiss Lotor’s cheek. “Seems like everything went well in here,” Lance said, looking at the sleeping children like they were angels.

“I can no longer feel my left foot,” Lotor complained softly, but that only made Lance chuckle instead of give him sympathy. 

“Well,” Lance said, standing up, “Let’s see if I can’t get Javier and Maria into their beds.” He gently picked up the boy, Javier, giving Lotor enough room to take Maria and carry her off, setting her down like a bomb that could go off. 

Once the children were settled, Lance grabbed Lotor’s arm and led him back to the couch, Lance took the position of both children, lying on top of him and snuggling up to his chest. “Read me a story,” he demanded, “Your voice is calming.”

Lotor sighed and picked up the book, continuing where he left off as he let a hand stroke through Lance’s hair.


	83. Horizon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pirates have captured Lance the mermaid for his tears, but Keith, another prisoner of the pirates, is determined to break him free.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Injury TW, Near Death, Pirate AU

Lance snapped his eyes open, perking up at the sound of the creaking door. He turned to the back of his tank, baring his teeth to intimidate whoever had walked in, but it was just Keith. The bared teeth turned into a smile. “Keith!”

“Shhh,” Keith said, holding a finger to his mouth. “We gotta be quiet.” Lance hadn’t trusted Keith at first, believing him to be like one of the pirates who had kidnapped him, but found out Keith was just as much a prisoner himself, having been captured in search of his brother Shiro, another prisoner. Once he learned that, Lance and Keith grew close. Very close. 

Keith pulled up a crate, standing by Lance’s tank. Lance popped his head above the water, reaching forward to pull him in for a kiss. Keith leaned into it for a moment before pulling away. “Wait,” he said, “We don’t have time for this.”

Lance swished his tail as much as the small tank allowed. “Why? What’s going on?”

Keith smirked, wrapping his arms around Lance’s Torso, “We’re breaking you out of here,” he said, “Come on, hook your tail over my other arm.”

Confused, Lance did as was asked. Keith heaved him out of the water, Lance clutching onto his neck, as he snuck the merman out onto the deck.

Lance had only seen the deck in daylight, when he had first been kidnapped. It looked different in the dark, covered in night sky. “There’s a port nearby,” Keith whispered, “It should be close enough for Shiro and I to make it by dingy. We’ll help you find your shoal from there.” 

He looked over to where Shiro was preparing a dingy to lower into the water, “Come on,” Shiro beckoned them over, “I drugged Prorok’s rum, he should be out for a while,” he motioned over to where Prorok was sleeping on the deck, “but we should get as far away as we can before anyone else wakes up.”

Keith nodded, loading Lance into the dingy. Shiro got in the other side, preparing the ropes. They all froze as they heard the distinct sound of footsteps approaching. “Go,” Keith said, standing in front of the boat protectively.

“Keith, no,” Shiro whispered, “We’re almost out.”

“We won’t get far if they come now,” Keith said, “Go, I’ll hold them off.”

“We’re not leaving,” Lance said, leaning over the side of the boat. 

Keith bit his tongue, looking between the oncoming footsteps, and the dingy. Sighing, he kicked the boat off the deck, sending both Shiro and Lance to jerk back, and then cut the rope, letting the dingy fall free into the water below. 

The dingy flipped hitting the water, Lance and Shiro tumbling into the waves. Lance arched his back, the ocean he called his home a welcome comfort. He turned seeing Shiro struggle to swim one-handed (the pirates had taken his arm) and grabbed him, pulling him up to the surface and flipping the boat over. Shiro crawled into the boat, soaking wet, as Lance dived down and grabbed the fallen oars. He could only use one at a time but that was better than nothing. 

By the time he threw the oar up onto the dingy, though, Shiro was thoroughly distracted. They both looked up, where they could only see shadows of fast moves, and hear voices and clangs of swords. One of the voices definitely belonged to the Pirate Captain Zarkon. 

“Go,” Lance urged, “Get to the port, I’ll catch up with you once I’ve gotten him.”

“I’m not leaving him,” Shiro said, but Lance was having none of it. 

“Look,” Lance pointed at the harpoon guns that were being manned, “They’ll destroy the dingy, and I can’t drag you BOTH to shore. Now go!” He gave the dingy a push sending it out into the sea. Shiro hesitated, a last look up to where Keith was fighting, but soon started paddling away.

Lance barely had time to dodge as the crew started firing their harpoons at HIM. They just needed his mythically powerful tears, he supposed that meant they didn’t need him whole. He looked up, and saw Keith fighting on the edge, sword flashing in the moonlight. “Keith!” He shouted up at him, “Keith! Jump!”

Keith looked back, but in doing so, allowed Zarkon to get the upper hand. He sliced a bloody gash into Keith’s face, forcing him to turn, and then stabbed him in the back. 

Lance didn’t quite remember what happened then. He remembered screaming, the sound echoing across the ocean winds. He remembered the pirates flinching away from it, the sword sticking into Keith’s back pulled away. He remembered seeing Keith fall over the side, tumbling tumbling down. He remembered holding Keith tight to him, watching the blood sink into the water. 

 

The sun rose as Lance dragged Keith’s limp body up to the beach. The water had washed most of the blood away, but his face was still a red mess. If it wasn’t for that, it would just look like he was sleeping. “Keith,” Lance whined, “Keith please. Come back to me.” He wiped the man’s face, trying to clean the blood asid. “I love you,” he sobbed, a single tear falling from his eyes to intermix with the blood and salt water on his face. 

Lance bowed his head over Keith’s chest, so he didn’t see the flash of green on the horizon. He DID hear Keith’s first breath, raspy with water, and jerked his head up. Slowly, Keith’s eyes blinked open, revealing beautiful purple irises. He coughed over and over again, as Lance smiled, not believing what he was seeing. The wound on his chest and face had healed over to a scar. 

Keith finally was able to control his own breathing, and returned Lance’s smile. “I love you too,” he said, just before Lance tackled him, hugging him for all he was worth, and pressing kisses and more tears to his face.


	84. Hunk/Keith Familiar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunk comes to feed his grumpy vampire boyfriend, and get some help sleeping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Blood
> 
> I've seen different words used for 'Vampire's helper' which is kinda what Hunk is. I've heard ghoul, but that can sometimes be something else, like a flesh-eater, and 'familiar' is usually for witches, but it was also used in "what we do in the shadows" so thats my use for it here.
> 
> Also, if you haven't seen 'what we do in the shadows' go do that now.

“Keith sweetie,” Hunk said, shaking his shoulder. Keith growled. “Good morning, hun.”

Keith turned his head away, hiding from the offending light Hunk had turned on. “If it’s morning I shouldn’t be awake,” he muttered. 

“Figure of speech,” Hunk muttered, “It’s just about 6 pm.”

That got Keith to move, shifting just slightly to look up at Hunk. “That’s a little early, isn’t it?” he said, “Is the sun even down?”

“Not yet,” Hunk said, sitting beside Keith and massaging his back. 

Keith hummed happily. “You just get home?” he muttered. 

“Mmhmm,” Hunk said, “And I brought breakfast.” He swung the bag in Keith’s face. 

Keith’s eyes lit up as he grabbed the bag, bringing it to his mouth and sinking his fangs into it. “Mmmmm A positive….” 

“Sit up,” Hunk patted him, “You’re going to get blood all over your sheets.”

Keith whined, but did as asked, sitting up and leaning against Hunk. Hunk loved him like this, his guard was always just a bit down when he was sleepy. “So,” Hunk said, rubbing circles into Keith’s arm, “I put in for the night shift.”

Keith opened his eyes, “You didn’t have to do that,” he said.

Hunk shrugged, “What’s a good familiar for?” 

“You’re a bit more than that, I hope you know.” Keith said, nuzzling into him a bit. 

Hunk smiled. As Keith’s ‘familiar’ he was responsible for keeping Keith fed, but with his job at the Red Cross, that wasn’t too difficult. Some vampires kept familiar humans like pets, but Keith had never pushed that, not even before they were dating. Even though he seemed dark and scary at first, he was always self-conscious, not wanting to hurt people. Hunk guessed that had something to do with the coven he was once apart of, but Keith didn’t like talking about that. 

“Here,” Keith said, putting the bag aside, “You want some? It’s been a while.” He put his fangs to his own wrist. In exchange for being his familiar, Hunk was allowed some of Keith’s blood, not enough to turn him, just to give a little bit of his powers. Hunk was stronger and faster now, could even dabble with jumping to seem like he was flying, though he never truly managed it alone. 

Still…”Not now,” Hunk said, pulling Keith’s hand from his mouth before Keith could bite into it. “You know that kinda grosses me out, and I’ll be good for a while.”

Keith’s shoulders sagged just a touch. “But...you do so much for me,” he said, “I want to do something for you.”

Hunk stretched. “Would you consider napping a little longer?” Hunk asked, “I don’t know if I could fall asleep right away, but with some help….”

Keith smiled, and nodded. Hunk lay down on the bed. The sheets were rumpled, but cold, as Keith left minimal body heat behind. 

“Shhh,” Keith muttered, leaning over him, “Breathe deeply,” he instructed. Hunk did as asked, “Relax, as completely as you can.”

Hunk did, closing his eyes and breathing in the scent of Keith. He even smelled cold, not dark and depressing, just...like snow.

“Let me in to your mind,” Keith muttered pressing a hand to his head. That part was unnecessary, but it felt nice. 

Hunk felt just a small tap on his brain. Hypnosis had at one point freaked him out to no end, but now the feeling of Keith was familiar. He greeted the touch warmly.

“You feel your body shutting down for the night,” Keith whispered, and Hunk wasn’t sure if he was thinking the words or just listening to him, “The struggles of the day are washing away leaving you nothing but the feeling of sleep.”

Hunk felt the touch in his mind, moving around like it was turning off switches. His limbs felt heavier, and he couldn’t open his eyelids if he tried.

“You won’t wake again until you are fully rested,” Keith said, pressing a fanged kiss to Hunk’s temple.

Hunk was more than happy to comply, but as the last movement he was capable of, he lifted his arm and pulled Keith close to his body.


	85. Hunk/Lance Grumpy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunk and Lance have moved into a new apartment! And yet Hunk is determined to be grumpy.

“Isn’t this amazing!” Lance said, turning around on the carpet like a disney princess might in an open field. “A whole place, all our own!”

“Co-signed by my parents,” Hunk grumped, sitting against the wall with his head in his hands. He was distinctly less happy. 

“Well yeah,” Lance said, “But they won’t be LIVING here. We will! No dorm! Our own bathroom! Our own kitchen and bedroom! What more could we want!”

Hunk raised an eyebrow at him as though to say ‘seriously?’ and finally answered, “Well. Furniture would be nice for a start.”

They had just moved in to their brand spanking new apartment, their first ever now that they were moving out of their parents’ basements, and a few days ago, that meant they were BOTH very excited. Until the moving truck got diverted and would be arriving TOMORROW. Leaving them stranded without most of their belongings. 

Hunk sighed, leaning his head against the wall. “Maybe we should just go stay in a motel for the night.”

“Oh, come on, Hunk!” Lance said, crawling over to him, kissing his cheek to try and coax him out of his grump, “This is our place! We’ve been waiting for this for so long, we don’t have to let one mishap get in the way of that.”

“One mishap that’s cost us a BED,” Hunk said. 

“We still have the stuff we brought in the car,” Lance said, “We’ve got our loved ones, the beloved Blue and Yellow,” he gestured to their cats, who had taken to sniffing every corner of the house. 

“They sleep on the floor all the time,” Hunk countered, “I get back problems.”

Lance whined just a little seeing his distress. “I’ll give you plenty massages.” Hunk grumbled, not appeased. “Alright, lets see what we can do here.”

He went to the boxes of stuff they kept in their car, going through and looking for materials. “Aha!” Lance said, “Jackpot, cat beds!” Lance said, taking them out.

“I’m so glad the CATS will have beds.”

“No, no, silly,” Lance said, “We can use them as pillows.”

“Whoopee,” Hunk replied.

Lance’s face fell, and Hunk felt guilty. Hunk knew Lance was just trying to cheer him up, and make the best out of a bad situation, but something inside Hunk was determined to be Grumpy. He was hot and sweaty. The apartment didn’t have wifi set up, and he was out of data. And the fast food they’d had for dinner was sitting poorly in his stomach. 

“Wait here,” Lance said, rolling their suitcases into the bedroom, “I’ll get something together.”

Hunk sighed and slumped over to his side. There was literally no way to be comfortable. He moved his legs this way and that, until he looked more like he was being possessed rather than trying to get comfortable. The cats got curious as to what he was doing, coming over to sniff. Blue got into her loaf beside him, purring and occasionally putting her nose to his face. Yellow decided it was a good place to splay out in a position that didn’t look incredibly comfortable, but Yellow was always odd like that. 

“Ok,” Lance said a while later, “Come on in!” 

Hunk sighed and plucked himself off the floor, going to follow Lance’s voice. 

In the bedroom, he found Lance standing proudly before what could only be described as a nest. He’d taken their clothes that they had so neatly folded, and smushed them all together into a disk on the floor, that was vaguely bed shaped. “Not exactly temperpedic,” Lance said, “But we should be able to kinda….mold it to our body shapes.” 

Hunk sighed, taking Lance by the waist and pulling him over as he squeaked in surprise. “It sure is something,” He said, but kissed Lance on the temple to let him know he liked it. 

“Not even the best part!” Lance said, going back to the suitcase and pulling out a long length of velvety blue cloth, “And you said this wizard cloak would never come in handy,” He said, laying it out like a blanket.

Hunk chuckled, getting into bed, and pulling the cloak up to his chin, “You have thoroughly proved me wrong, oh Lancelot the wise.” The nest was lumpy as all hell, but Lance was right, it was better than the floor. 

“And that’s not all!” Lance said, like a bad car salesman, “Look!” 

He lay beside Hunk and pointed at the ceiling. There, Lance had stuck several sticky stars in a rushed constellation. Hunk smiled and hugged Lance close. “Thank you.”


	86. Lance/Lotor Last

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance, the rebel, sneaks into Prince Lotor's Tower Room the night before Lotor is to be wed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What? ANOTHER Lancelot chapter? oop. 
> 
> Anyway, prepare thyself for angst.

Lotor’s eyes snapped open at the sound of something at his window. He hadn’t been asleep, couldn’t sleep with tomorrow hanging over his head, but still, there was something disconcerting hearing a noise from your window when you were several stories high in a tower bedroom. 

Silently, he slipped his hand beneath his pillow and drew his dagger. His sword was too far away. The noise from his window sounded again, and he crept into the shadows of his room, making his way to the side of the window. 

A figure shaded in darkness was climbing up, the noise his foot against the bricks. Lotor clenched his dagger in his hand, preparing to stab the intruder. 

The stranger’s foot settled on the window sill, and Lotor grabbed him, pulling him inside and twirling him around. It was only after the stranger yelped, and Lotor had his knife at his throat that he recognized the brown tuft of hair now pressed to his nose. “Um, babe,” Lance said, “Please don’t kill me.”

Lotor released him instantly, the dagger clattering to the ground. “Lance!” he said, instead capturing him in a hug. He pressed his face into the crook of Lance’s neck, letting his familiar scent and feel.

Lance relaxed, hugging him back, “Really giving me mixed signals here, babe,” he said, making Lotor chuckle for only a brief moment. 

The humor drained out of him as caution took over and he pulled away, “What are you doing here? If my father’s guards catch you, you’ll be killed.”

“Then I better not get caught, huh?” Lance said with a flirtatious wink Lotor found charming despite the fact he simultaneously wanted to rap his boyfriend on the head with a bat for his recklessness. 

“Lance,” Lotor said, despairing, “You need to leave.”

“But I just climbed up all this way to see you,” Lance said, cradling his face in his hand, “I had to see you…” his voice trailed off, and Lotor knew suddenly what had prompted Lance to come all this way.

He sighed, turning away. “You heard?”

“That your father’s marrying you off?” Lance said behind him, reaching for Lotor’s arm, “Did he--”

“He found out,” Lotor said, “He doesn’t know who, but...he knows the person I’ve chosen is not the one he’s chosen.”

“Lotor--”

“That’s why you HAVE to go,” Lotor turned on him, “You have to get out before he finds you.”

Lance smirked, infuriatingly charming, “Come with me,” he asked, his voice soft. Lotor stared, blankly, “Come with me, back to the rebels. Fight with us AGAINST your father. Be with me.”

Lotor shuddered, the offer so tempting to his mind. “I...I can’t,” he said, his heart tearing apart as Lance’s face fell. “It’s not that I don’t want to, I just...I can do more here. To change things on the INSIDE. To try and unite his own people against him.”

Lance swallowed and Lotor saw his heart breaking. “So, you’re going to do it,” he said, “You’re going to marry her.”

Lotor bowed his head in shame. “Acxa’s not bad,” he said, “We’ve been friends since we were children, she--she’ll help me.” he said, the excuse weak. The main benefit was that Acxa would never love him, just as he couldn’t love her.

“But I won’t be able to see you again,” Lance said, his voice treading lightly on the territory between a whine and a sob, “If you’re married, I...I won’t…”

He bowed his head, and Lotor knew he was hiding his tears. Lotor lifted his chin, facing him. For once he was speechless, looking at Lance in the dim moonlight. He pulled him in for a kiss, which Lance gladly returned. “We will defeat my father,” he said, “You and your friends on the outside, me and mine from in. No matter what it takes, we’ll be reunited once again.”

He felt the tear slip down Lance’s cheek, and pulled him close for another kiss. Lance sniffled, wrapping his arms around Lotor’s neck. “Can I stay here?” he asked, voice soft and all the false bravado gone. Lotor swallowed, hesitant. “I’ll be gone by morning,” Lance promised, “But if I won’t...if this is our last night for a while...I want it to last as long as it can.”

Lotor’s heart swelled. Silently, he led Lance to his bed, lying beside him. He did not dare sleep, instead trading soft kisses and sweet words with his beloved, making each one mean something to hold them over for as long as they needed. 

As promised, by the time daylight broke through the window, Lance was gone.


	87. Krolia & Colleen (&Mrs. McClain, & Mrs. Garrett) Motherhood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The paladins have kicked out their adoring mothers for some time together, leaving Krolia with little to do, until Colleen finds her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made up more names. If you haven't read my Krolia/Jack chapters, Jack is the name of Keith's father.

Krolia slumped in the hospital cafeteria. Humans had such strange ideas of food. This… ‘Jell-o’ for instance...what even was it? Was it a plant? An animal? What part of the animal produced...this? And why were they all brightly, almost unnaturally colored. 

She pushed it aside, unable to eat it no matter how hungry she felt. It just wasn’t worth it. “You got kicked out too?” She heard a voice above her and looked. A woman with sandy blonde hair was smiling at her. She looked vaguely familiar. “Colleen Holt,” she said, answering her silent question and holding out her hand.

Krolia was familiar with this gesture, Jack had told her about this. She took the hand and gave it a practiced shake. “Krolia,” she responded.

Colleen chuckled, “I know,” she said, making Krolia frown, “Not that many friendly Galra around, and most of them keep their hoods up, except you and your leader. Not that hard to keep track of.” She shrugged, then settled into the chair opposite Krolia, “Pidge kicked me out of her hospital bed, said I was ‘hovering.’ I think she and the other paladins are up to something. Probably harmless like movie night, but...it’s hard to remember to give them space when they’ve been gone so long.”

Krolia flinched. She had been the one who was gone, not once but twice. At least the second time Keith was old enough to know she was leaving. She had a feeling that absence would be following her for the rest of her life. “Yes,” she said, not willing to go into those emotions with a stranger, “Keith kicked me out too.”

If Colleen noticed anything amiss, she didn’t say it. “Well, you’re welcome to come with me, if you’d like,” she said, “There’s a lot of work to be done, setting up places for all the aliens that don’t have ships of their own to stay. We could use some help from someone who’s actually been to space.” She smiled and looked down at the full plate in front of her, “Once you’re done, of course.”

“Oh,” Krolia said pushing her plate away from herself, “I’m done.”

Colleen chuckled.

*****

Colleen led her to a complex of rooms, explaining it used to be a hotel. “It’s not in GREAT condition, considering it was in one of the abandoned areas, but at least it has rooms and plumbing and some amount of electricity. Kinda on the fritz though.”

She led Krolia to a group of humans going through laundry, or doing some light construction in the corner. “Rosa,” Colleen called over, “Sefina.” 

Two women looked up from their work with wood, “Hi, Colleen!” one of them called out, beckoning them closer. 

Colleen smiled as they approached, “Krolia, this is Rosa McClain, Lance’s mother, and Sefina Garrett, Hunk’s mother.”

“That damn nickname,” Sefina said, sawing into a plank of wood, “He’s honored across the planet and the universe and not one person knows him by his given name.”

“What IS his given name,” Rosa asked.

“He’s forbidden me from saying it!” Sefina said, frustrated, “Says its ‘embarrassing.’ Ha! Kids, right?” 

It took a moment for Krolia to realize Sefina was looking at her. “Right,” she said. Keith wasn’t usually that kind of difficult. Then again, she only knew him after he’d been raised, and knew he was difficult as a child, but she wasn’t there to handle it. 

Rosa chuckled. “We’re making beds for the Kanagi,” she told Krolia, “Kan--Kanagee, am I saying that right?” 

“Kanahji,” Krolia corrected. 

Rosa shook her head, “And I thought learning English was hard. Thank goodness most of you have those translator things, or I think I’d honestly just revert to charades for everything.”

Krolia wasn’t sure what charades was, but she did notice something with the beds. She wasn’t sure if she should say it, but...Colleen had brought her here for her alien experience. “The Kanahji revert to their liquid state when they sleep. They prefer round beds that encapsulate them, so they can melt out in equidistant stretches.”

“ROUND?” Sefina said, lifting her saw up and accidentally looking threatening. Krolia blinked, not scared of the saw, but scared these women would disapprove of her. She knew she didn’t fit the mold for an Earth mother, and she didn’t want to separate herself further, or worse, separate Keith from the other human children.

“It’s all right,” Colleen said, “We’ve got those planks of Birch over here, they should be flexible enough to make a frame.” 

Rosa picked one of them up, considering. “Should work, with some sanding. Krolia,” she looked up, “You have that weird alien strength, right? Would you be able to hold it in place while we nail it down to what we’ve made so far?”

Krolia swallowed, “I--sure,” she said, taking the plank Rosa handed her. 

“Careful! Use gloves, you don’t want splinters,” Sefina said, tossing her a pair. They were a bit small, but they’d do the job.

The mothers continued gossiping, mostly about their children and families. Krolia was worried she wouldn’t have much to contribute, but when they spoke of their fighting skills, well, no one was better than her son, and she was happy to brag alongside them. 

She thought sadly of her conversations with Jack, talking about how they had to hide her from humans. And maybe once, that was true. But here, and now, after everything the humans had gone through, she was happy to work alongside this interesting species.


	88. Veronica/Allura Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allura goes to a house party and runs into a distant friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> College AU

Allura hadn’t even planned on GOING to the house party. Not that she didn’t like a good party now and again, but she had a lot of studying to do, so had been planning on skipping it. 

Those plans went by the wayside when her friends were involved. Matt practically dragged her into the house, Adam and Shiro pushing on her from behind. In the end, she was actually grateful. She needed that break and to cut loose a bit. She’d been stressing so much she felt her hair practically on end, but here with her friends, that same stress melted away. 

Until her friends blatantly ABANDONED her.

She had thought Adam and Shiro had just found some dark corner to make out in, but after her third sweep of the house, she figured out they were gone. Or possibly had gone somewhere she didn’t want to follow. Likewise, Matt had disappeared, where or with who (if anyone) Allura couldn’t tell. 

Once she was sure her friends were indeed gone, she heaved a sigh and prepared to leave herself. Maybe she’d grab some cookies for the road. If she hurried, she might be able to get in a few more minutes of work on her project before she HAD to get to sleep. Thank goodness she wasn’t drunk, barely even buzzed. 

The same could not be said of the girl who knocked into her. “Your hair...it’s...its like starlight!” she said, “It’s a cloud, but like, a magic cloud!” the girl said, practically leaning on her, glasses askew.

Allura grabbed the girl’s shoulders and pushed back just a bit, trying to get her to stand under her own power, “Veronica?!” She said, surprised. She was more friendly with Veronica’s brother, Lance. Still, she never expected to see Veronica so, uh, compromised. “Who are you here with?”

“Mmm,” she said, “James and Rizavi left already. Laaaame,” she muttered trying to lean forward and lie on Allura’s shoulder, but Allura kept her upright. 

She scoffed, “They just left you like this?” She barely knew James, but knew he and her friend Keith had issues. If this is the kind of thing he did, she could see why. 

“Nahh,” Veronica scoffed, half heartedly waving her hand as though to push Allura’s concerns away, “I just needed to relax a bit more, ya know? But they just wanted to sleep. Lame-o Llamas.” She snickered, even SNORTED at her own joke. “I’m tired too now, though, I think,” She said, knees buckling a little as Allura desperately tried to keep her upright.

“Dammit, Veronica,” Allura said hooking her arm over her shoulders, “I thought you were the RESPONSIBLE sibling.” 

She made it outside where she could more easily hear herself think, and put in a call to Lance. Veronica was happily singing some ditty in spanish that Allura didn’t know. Allura’s phone went straight to voicemail. Dammit, of all the nights he went to bed early…

She looked over, realizing the song had turned into something else. It...It sounded like Veronica was crying. Looking, she realized, she wasn’t just crying, she was sobbing into Allura’s shoulder. “Veronica?”

“My girlfriend broke up with me,” she muttered, getting tears and snot on Allura’s shoulder.

Allura blinked. “I didn’t know you had a girlfriend,” she said. 

“No one knew,” Veronica said, “I didn’t--don’t tell anyone. Not even my friends, or--or Lance, especially Lance,” her words were getting more slurred, “Everyone thinks I have my shit together...no one knows how awful I am…”

Allura’s eyes softened, and she readjusted her hold on her to be more comfortable for the both of them. “You’re not awful, Veronica,” she said, “Come on, you can stay in my dorm for the night.”

Veronica mumbled an assent and Allura started half-carrying and half-dragging her through campus. “You’re so pretty,” she kept muttering, “You have eyes like diamonds…”

Allura smiled, “That’s one of the nicest compliments I’ve ever heard.”

Veronica was offended that no one had lavished Allura properly in compliments, and spent the entire trip home describing how wonderful she was, some of it in spanish. If Allura needed an ego boost, she got it. 

The bed was hardly bit enough for the both of them, but Veronica took Allura’s arm and refused to let go. Honestly, Allura was feeling the effects of the night herself. 

She was sure she’d feel gross in the morning, but she lay down beside Veronica, who was already asleep and snoring.


	89. Adam & Keith Response

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam goes to comfort Keith after the loss of the Kerberos mission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angst

Adam knocked on his door. “Keith?” he called in, “Are you awake?”

There was no response, and so Adam punched in his override code, entering the room. It was dark, but he could see a lump in the bed. “I know you’re awake,” he said, “You always roll around and push the covers off when you’re actually asleep.”

Keith still didn’t respond. Adam couldn’t blame him. He pulled up a chair and sat by his bed. “I heard what happened today,” he said, “You can’t just punch your teachers. Even when they are as punchable as Iverson.” The lump stayed still. “You know, they’re talking about suspension. Maybe even expulsion.”

Adam through his head back. He wasn’t good at this he was more the tough love kind of instructor, of course he could give sympathy, but nothing on this level. Especially not when he was hurting so much too. 

“I know...I know you miss Shiro.” The name caught in his throat but he fought to keep going, “I do too, really. I guess that sounds kind of hypocritical, huh?”

He felt a tear fighting its way through, but he blinked rapidly, pushing it back and looking around the room. It was just like any Garrison dorm room. It reminded Adam of when he and Shiro met, the shenanigans they’d get up to here. He couldn’t believe people thought of Shiro as the responsible one. More than anything, he’s….he WAS the kind one. The one who could make connections with kids. 

And no kid did he connect with more than the one sitting in front of him. “I know I’m one of the last people you want to see right now. I know you blame me for what happened between me and him. I’m so sorry you found out about his illness the way you did.”

He bit his tongue, “This, this is what I was afraid of. What I hoped I could prevent. I thought, maybe, I could get him to stay. I should have known better. He’s just as stubborn as you, kid.” he tried for a laugh, but it sounded just as hollow as it felt. 

Adam sighed, and put his head between his knees. “I miss him. I miss him so much, it’s like a part of me has been torn out. I’d give anything...I’d take him back, I’d marry him if he would just come back….” he scoffed, “I guess this is why they call it the bargaining stage.”

He wiped his cheeks. His tears finally won and broke free, running in rivulets out the corner of his eyes. “I know you’re hurting too,” he said, “But neither of us have to go through this alone. So please, just...just talk to me.”

He looked up at the bed, but the corners were firmly set. He was probably just waiting for Adam to leave. He wondered if Keith had even been listening.

Adam sniffed clearing his face, getting his breath under control. “I’m going to talk to the Garrison. If...if you’re ok with it, I’LL take over as your guardian. I’ll speak for you! Iverson might be a fight to win over, but if you are willing to swallow your pride and apologize, we can save your spot.”

“And I know what you’re thinking, you’d rather eat a bag of rusty nails rather than go and beg that old man for forgiveness. And look, I get it. Iverson can be a real pill, but he has some good qualities to him, deep down. He was just as worried about Shiro as I was--ok, bad example, I get it. Honestly, I think he’s upset by this whole thing too. If you talk about things a little, maybe you two can come to some sort of understanding.”

The bed stayed stubbornly still. “Come on, Keith.” Adam said, getting frustrated, “I hate to play this card, but...you KNOW Shiro would want you to keep at it. He saw something in you. I see it to, you have an amazing spirit. Someday, when you learn to control your temper a bit, you’re going to be an amazing pilot. Maybe BETTER than Shiro. You’re going to help a lot of people, just like Shiro wanted.”

Still, the blanket stayed unmoved. Adam got up, his patience at trying to be like Shiro having officially run dry, “Alright, get up, kid, its time to face things proper-” 

Adam froze, ripping the blanket off the bed. Instead of a lump of moody-teen, there was just a lump of pillows, stuck together to look like a person at a glance. 

Adam dived for the light switch, looking around. Keith’s clothes were gone, the knick-knacks he’d gotten from Shiro...EVERYTHING except the Garrison’s belongings had disappeared. 

“No,” he whispered to himself, feeling the ghost of Shiro freeze him as he realized he had lost his love’s protegé. He tore through the Garrison, heading for the front door. 

In the far, far distance of the setting sun, he could just barely glimpse what seemed to be a hovercraft, taking off into the desert.


	90. Keith/Lance Hay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance's family has hired Keith as a farmhand, and Lance learns more about him.

Lance glared down silently from his perch in the loft. Below, Keith worked mechanically, shoveling out the dirty hay and putting in clean, the lovely sounds of Kaltenecker and the other cows providing a strange yet calming ambience from outside. 

Lance was the youngest of his siblings, and the last to remain on the farm with his parents, Veronica having accepted some fancy scholarship to some fancy school (smartass). While they had family in the area, they were all concerned with their own lives, and, well, Lance’s parents weren’t getting any younger. So, they’d decided to hire help, in the form of Lance’s greatest enemy, Keith Kogane. 

Keith had gone to school with Lance. Lance had always found him to be a kinda smartass stuck up silent type, that the teachers adored. Or, would have anyway, if he wasn’t always causing problems. He’d eventually been kicked out of school, for reasons Lance didn’t know, and Lance thought he had seen the last of him, until his dad introduced him as the new hired hand.

Keith had worked hard, quickly earning Lance’s family’s approval. But not Lance’s. Definitely Not Lance’s. He didn’t know what Keith’s game was. Did he not get enough of showing up Lance in school so now he had to follow him to his HOME to do it? 

Well, he wasn’t showing him up today, not with how slow he was going. Keith paused every few seconds, leaning on his rake and wobbling where he stood. Lance practically expected him to fall over where he stood. 

He did not. What he did do was stack the hay into a huge pile and then flop on it. He lay there, unnaturally still for a moment, until Lance heard a snore echo around the stable. Ha! He had caught him!

Quickly making his way down the ladder, Lance stood over Keith, proud in his imagined victory for a moment. Keith was face down in the hay, and Lance wasn’t too sure how he was breathing. He didn’t look incredibly comfortable either. But whatever, Lance was here to gloat, and so he kicked Keith in the shin. 

Keith’s head jerked up with a surprised snore. “Looking for a needle?” Lance asked.

“Huh?” Keith asked, blinking his eyes open and rolling up. He had hay stuck in his hair. Lance had to fight down the instinct to think it was adorable. “Oh, god, did I fall asleep?”

“Hey, it’s no shame,” Lance said, thinking that it was, “Some people just aren’t cut out for farm work.”

Keith got up, brushing himself off and leaning on his rake again. He looked...well, honestly he looked awful up close. His eyes looked like he’d taken suction cups to them. His skin was pale, and his clothes rumpled. “I’m sorry, look, I’ll get back to work right now,” he said, going to rake up more hay, “Won’t happen again, I promise.”

Lance scoffed, “I’m not your boss, dude,” he said, as Keith went to continue his work, with more effort and less results, “Are you sick or something?”

“No,” Keith protested, “I’m just….I’m just tired,” he fought back a yawn, “Didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“Too busy partying, huh?” Lance asked. 

“What?” Keith looked up at him, “What kind of guy do you think I am?”

Lance had to blink at that. Honestly, he, uh, he didn’t know that much about Keith. He had just kind of, um, assumed a lot. “Well, what WERE you doing?” he said, preserving his pride.

Keith shrugged, “had to stay a little late at the drugstore I work at. It wasn’t much but it kinda screwed my schedule up.” He yawned again.

Lance’s friends deepened. “You have a second job?”

“Mmhmm,” Keith said, his hay pile flopping over so he had to start again, “it’s not bad, not a lot of people go there at night once the pharmacy’s closed. Mostly I just study.”

“Study?” Lance asked, confused, “I thought you dropped out?”

Keith winced just slightly, “Uh, yeah,” he said, “my brother has me taking online classes, though. Said I need to get my GED at least.”

The more he explained, the more confused Lance got. “But...why don’t you just transfer to another school?” He was still school aged, and a promising student. There weren’t a LOT of schools in the area, but surely one would take him.

“Need to work,” Keith said. Lance didn’t bother asking this time, just waited. “My brother...he got back from Afghanistan a few months ago, after losing an arm.” Lance gasped. “He gets some disability, but it’s not enough. And he’s having trouble getting hired for it.” Keith shrugged, as though to say ‘that’s life,’ and not a horrible tragic backstory. “He doesn’t WANT me to support him, but we don’t have much a choice. Besides, he did so much for me, making sure I didn’t go into foster care when Dad died. I want to help him.”

He finished his pile of hay, and moved on to work another, but Lance wasn’t having it. He grabbed the rake from him, surprisingly easy as Keith was normally faster than him, but he must really have been out of it. “You lie down,” Lance instructed, “I’ll finish up in here.”

Keith gave him a flat stare. He reached to take his take back, but Lance held onto it. “I don’t need your pity, Lance.”

“Not pity,” Lance said, “you’re doing a shitty job. I can do it in half the time when you’re like this.”

“Don’t you have your own tasks to do?” Keith asked, trying to snatch the rake again, but it was half-hearted.

“You can help me do them,” Lance said, “AFTER you’ve rested. Now get down, mullet, before I push you.”

Keith hesitated, but as soon as he started lowering himself, he collapsed back into the hay, curling up on his scratchy, uncomfortable mattress.

Lance sighed, looking at him. Keith fell asleep instantly, and Lance couldn’t fight the thought he was cute this time. He shook his head, determined to talk to his dad later about giving Keith a raise.


	91. Coran & Allura Humans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allura is recovering in her hospital bed, while Coran takes care of her and talks about their situation.

Allura jammed her hand on the button at her side. It did not produce the desired result, and so continued pressing on it until it was threatening to break. 

“It won’t distribute any more medication,” Coran said, leaning against the doorframe.

Allura groaned and tossed the little button aside. “It’s broken then.”

“No,” Coran said, coming in to sit at the foot of her bed, “It’s designed to only give out a certain dosage of medication, and then to stop for several vargas to keep you from accidentally overdosing.”

Allura’s groan turned into a whine. “Can’t you hack into it or something? I’m not human I can handle more medication.”

“I already adjusted the device to your biology,” he said kindly, “It shouldn’t give you more medication for another two vargas.”

“TWO?!” she whined, turning on her bed, “I don’t think I’m going to survive that long.”

Coran, the sadist, chuckled lightly, getting up to lean over her bed, “What’s hurting?”

“Everything,” she muttered into her pillow.

“Can you be more specific?” 

She groaned, “My head,” she said, “It hurts just to think. I can’t even sleep.”

Coran hummed and nodded, hand coming up to lightly squeeze on the sides of her head. “Um. Coran,” Allura said, “What are you doing?”

“You, my dear Princess,” Coran said, “Have been spoiled by medical pods. When I was young, we depended on various forms of medication, so that when one failed we wouldn’t all die. I was an adept medic on an expedition to the moons of Xadia 4, it was remarkable, I had to actually deliver octuplets from--”

“From a local Pentapod, yes,” Allura said as Coran massaged along the sides of her head, “You’ve told me this story before.” 

Coran chuckled, “Well it’s a story worth telling multiple times. I nearly lost my hand that day!” 

Allura smiled, “One of the Pentapods children mistook your hand for a buckleberry branch, and wanted it’s first ever meal. But, once you convinced it to eat from an actual buckleberry branch, it snuggled right up to you and fell asleep on your shoulder.” 

Coran beamed as Allura recounted his own story, “It was the most adorable thing I had ever seen. Until, of course, Alfor showed me his newborn daughter.”

Allura smiled, closing her eyes as he massaged over her forehead. “That feels nice,” she said, her words slurred. “I still miss healing pods,” she said, “At least I could just sleep through all my recovery.”

“Well,” he said, “I’ll see what I can do, but I don’t think I can make one before you’ve recovered.”

She grumped. “Damn humans,” she said, “Why can’t they develop more technology?”

“Give them a chance,” Coran said, “Their technology and galactic awareness have expanded exponentially in just the past three years, and they’ve adapted fairly decently. Not all species would be willing to act as a homebase for aliens so soon after their own occupation.”

Allura grinned, thinking. “It’s almost like being with Alteans again,” she said, “Weaker, stunted, unevolved Alteans.”

Coran chuckled at that, finally releasing her head. “Yes, well, I enjoy being among them.”

Allura looked out the window to the city below. “Do you--” she cut herself off, trying to think of how to reword her question, “Do you think, that one day we might be able to call this planet home?”

Doran took a deep breath, following her gaze out the window. “It’s hard for me to think like that,” he said, “Hard for me to accept any planet that isn’t Altea. But, I’ve also found it nearly impossible to predict the future. So, anything’s possible.”

She hummed in agreement. “I think…” she said, “I’m tired.”

“Good,” Coran said, giving her an affectionate pet to the head, “Rest. For at least two vargas.”

Her eyes fluttered closed and he stood guard over her as she rested.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: NOTES--  
> A) I'm going to be out for the next two days, so thats why there wont be updates.  
> B) We're coming up on 100 chapters/oneshots and....I don't know if I want to continue this beyond that. I will probably want to do some kind of oneshots, but maybe not for Voltron. I may start a series for a new fandom (like the Dragon Prince, I've recently become obsessed) but I'll keep this up, of course, and if I feel inspired may add to it some days. Just not as consistently. I haven't fully decided or made up my mind yet, but just letting you know where my thought process is.


	92. Lance/Lotor Ready

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Lotor prepare a new bedroom, and Lotor reflects on his life.

“Nail,” Lance said, holding out his hand. Lotor placed a nail into his palm and Lance lined it up, carefully nailing the point into place. 

“Are you sure you don’t want me doing that?” Lotor asked.

“I got it, I got it,” he said, gently hammering on the flat end, “How far in should I put it?”

Lotor maturely held down his snort, but by the smirk on Lance’s face, he knew exactly what he was saying. “Not too far, we don’t want to make it hard to hook the painting.”

“But I don’t want it falling out, either,” Lance said, continuing to tap on the nail. “Besides, I saw a trick online for hanging paintings, we just need a fork.”

“A what?” Lotor asked confused. 

“A Fork!” Lance said, hopping off the step stool “Life hack!”

“Is this anything like the duct tape incident?”

Lance scowled at him. “Nope! Totally useful, not hard at all, little trick to make life easier.” 

He passive-aggressively pecked Lotor’s cheek as he passed by, presumably to get a fork. Lotor sighed, looking down at the painting Lance had picked out. It was a beautiful ocean beach. Everything in the room was ocean themed, something decently gender-neutral and calming for...for the baby.

Lotor’s brain always did a little hiccup whenever he thought the words. They were going to have a baby. Well, adopt one anyway. Lotor had used his rather impressive resources to find a pregnant mother who couldn’t afford abortion and DEFINITELY couldn’t afford to raise a child, not that she particularly wanted to even if she could. She was a nice girl, smart….and still had two more years of Grad school. The birth father was also intelligent, even if he’d apparently fucked off to the middle of nowhere at the sound of baby. Lance said they could always blame him if the child ever acted up. 

Lance and Lotor agreed to pay her medical expenses, and they would adopt the child once it was born. There were a lot of lawyers and such involved, but luckily Lotor WAS a lawyer, and knew his way around court systems. 

The final contracts went up a few days ago, the child set to be born in a few months. Lance had been absolutely bouncing off the walls. He’d always wanted to start his own family, just watching him was enough to tell that, and if there was any remaining doubt, he had told Lotor so before they were married.

Lotor had accepted this, agreed he’d like to raise a family. But now that the lawyer work was done, the part he was good at, he felt uneasy. 

It was no secret his own childhood was...how did Lance put it...a raging dumpster fire. Lotor was kicked out when he was 18 with no way of supporting himself. If it wasn’t for Lance, he didn’t know if he’d even have survived, gone to college, or finished school at all. His father had passed away several years ago, his mother disappearing, and leaving him with surprising wealth. Lotor would say he was grateful but it really only enforced the image in his mind that both he and the world as a whole was better off with Zarkon Galra dead. 

He was Lotor’s only exposure to being a father, though. Lotor had already resolved not to be like him, but he couldn’t lie to himself it was one of his greater fears. He knew he wasn’t a particularly warm person. That was Lance. 

Sighing, Lotor picked up the ocean painting, ignoring the stool he didn’t need to hang the painting on the nail. At least he could do something for this future kid. 

“Alright, I got the--” Lance walked in, fork in hand, to see the painting hanging perfectly. “Why...why do I even bother?” he muttered, setting the fork down. 

Lotor shrugged, looking around the bedroom. It was practically perfect, just needing a young child to put inside the crib they had painstakingly put together last weekend, right under the seashell mobile. 

Lance came and wrapped his arms around his waist, standing on his toes to put his chin on Lotor’s shoulder. “Whatcha thinkin?”

Lotor sighed. “Do you think we’re ready for this?”

Lance hummed, taking the thought seriously. “My mama would say no one’s ever really ready to be a parent for the first time. But you learn, and you stick with it, and try not to screw the kid up too much in the process.”

Lotor swallowed. “It’s that last part I’m most worried about,” he said. “What if...what if I don’t learn? What if I can’t?”

Lance turned him in his arms, pressing a kiss on Lotor’s lips. “Then you have me right beside you. Always.”

Lotor smiled and pulled his husband in for an embrace. They would be fine, as long as they were together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm leaning more and more with doing something completely different with oneshots once I hit the 100 mark, so let me know if there are any last things you want for this series. I've got a couple lined up already.


	93. Keith & Jack Shooting Star

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack and 5-year-old Keith watch a meteor shower

“Whoa!” Keith called out, “Did you see? Did you see Daddy?” 

“I saw, I saw,” Jack said, smiling at his 5 year old son, “That was a good one.”

“It went right across the sky!” Keith bounced happily, looking for more shooting stars. He squeezed his eyes shut, “I wish I could be an astronaut and go up into space!” he said to the shooting star. “You make one, Daddy!”

Jack smirked, “But Keith, if I say it out loud, it won’t come true.”

Keith gasped, abandoned looking at the stars and instead crouched over his father. “So….my wish won’t come true?”

Jack swallowed, hearing the edge of tears in Keith’s voice. He wasn’t usually a whiny kid, but he took his dreams of space travel very seriously. “I think we can give you a pass, kid,” Jack said, “I bet if you wish on the next one and keep it to yourself, it’ll cancel out the other wish.”

Keith nodded very seriously, and stared back up at the stars. 

They lay in silence for a moment, Keith focusing on one corner of the sky, while Jack looked all over. “You have to watch there, Daddy,” Keith said, pointing to his corner, “Thats where the shooting stars will be.”

“But if they’re shooting, won’t they shoot all over?” Jack said, smiling. 

Keith sighed harshly, and Jack felt very judged. “This is the Perseid’s asteroid shower. So they’ll come from over there, where the Perseus constellation is.” 

Jack successfully stopped himself from chuckling, but it was a close call. Keith had excellent pronunciation skills for his age, a skill he had practiced and was proud of. “Did you read that in your book?”

Keith nodded vigorously, “See, Perseus is over there, he was a warrior who slayed Medusa. And there, that’s Andromeda.”

“Looks like a line to me.”

Keith chuckled, “You can’t see the outline of her, but that’s what it is. She was a princess. And then that’s her mom, Cassiopeia.”

Jack hummed at the word. He remembered Keith reading his books and coming across the word ‘Mom’ and had to ask what it meant, long forgetting the days where he said it himself. Jack couldn’t afford pre-school, and the babysitter he’d hired avoided using the word, like it was a curse. Jack had to excuse himself to the Garage after that, shedding some very manly tears. 

“You sure know a lot of constellations,” Jack said, still looking all the way around. “But I gotta tell ya, I’m not really looking for shooting stars.”

Keith screwed up his face. “What are you looking for?”

Jack swallowed, wondering if he should say it. “Aliens.” 

Keith laughed, but Jack stayed firm. “There’s no such thing as Aliens, daddy.”

“There sure are,” Jack said, “I’ve seen one.”

Keith gasped. “You did?!” Jack nodded, “When?!?!?”

“Oh a long time ago,” Jack said, waving his hand, “Out here in the desert.” 

“Whoaaa!” Keith said, enchanted, “What did it look like?”

Jack thought for a moment, leaning his head back to take in every single star. “It looked like you.”

Keith giggled. “I’m not an alien!” 

“You’re NOT?!” Jack said, exaggerated, and Keith giggled more. Jack leaned over to hug and tickle him, “You’re SURE you’re not an alien!” Keith shrieked in laughter, the sound echoing around the desert. “Do you come in peace? Do you want me to take you to my leader”

“No!” Keith chuckled, as Jack tickled him more.

Jack sighed, scooping the boy up in his arms. “Come on, it’s way past your bedtime.”

Keith whined, “But I’m not tired!” he complained. 

“Just close your eyes and count some aliens,” Jack told him, carrying him back through the house. 

Despite his protests, Keith was asleep minutes after he lay down. Jack went back out to watch the night sky, searching. A shooting star went past. He made a wish.


	94. Lotor/Allura Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lotor stays behind after Allura's annual Christmas Party to help with dishes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Human AU

“You really don’t have to do this,” Allura said, “There aren’t too many dishes, it should be fine.”

“Allura,” Lotor said, raising an eyebrow at her, “There are so many dishes here I half expect them to start singing a giant musical number like in beauty and the beast.”

That had her laughing. “Alright, alright,” she said, “I’ll wash if you dry.”

He nodded, taking a dish from her hand. “The party was incredible,” he said, “They’re just like the ones I remember from as a kid. Without my mother’s terrible potato salad, of course.”

She laughed again, the sound like a bell, “Well….she did try,” she said.”

“Please,” Lotor said, putting a plate away and taking the next one, “I still had to eat that dish for the next 10 years after we stopped coming to these things,” He sighed, “I missed your Dad’s Casserole, though. You nailed the recipe.”

“Aw, you’re sweet for saying so,” She said, “I never add enough paprika.” 

“It tasted perfect to me,” He smiled, “I’m glad you kept up the traditional christmas party after him. And I’m glad you invited me.”

“Well, it’s an important part of the year,” Allura said, “And thank you for coming. I’m glad Altea technical and Galra Incorporated are back in business.”

Lotor smirked, “I’m just glad we’re friends again,” he said, “I’ve missed you. We were so close as kids.”

Allura smiled, focusing on a stubborn stain on her dish, “I remember you pulling my hair a lot.”

He laughed, “Ok, well, I didn’t exactly have the best way of SHOWING it,” Lotor said, “Sorry about that. And,” he sighed, “I do want to say just as a general statement that I’m sorry for my father. There is no question in my mind that he was the one responsible for the falling out.”

Allura sighed, thinking back on the old christmas parties, the ones where she and Lotor and other children would chase each other around the Christmas tree. Until one Chistmas the atmosphere was simply tense, and Zarkon dragged his son out by the arm, and she didn’t see him for over a decade.

He’d sprouted, growing a long mane of hair and cheekbones that Allura was sure she could cut herself on. She had seen him in his business suit when they had come together to re-establish the relationship between their companies, but it was nothing to seeing him here, casually drying dishes in an elf christmas sweater.

“The past is the past, she said, “The good thing is that it didn’t keep us apart forever.”

“Exactly,” He smiled at her. 

They were distracted at the sound of wind rattling the windows. Allura turned off the sink and went to look, “Oh Quiznak,” She said, “It looks like the snowstorm’s really picked up.”

Lotor went to follow her, looking out. “Hmm, maybe I should get going, so I can get home before the streets close.”

“Nonsense,” she said, closing the blinds, “you’ll stay here for the night.”

He followed her to the linen closet, “Are you sure? I really don’t mind--”

“Lotor,” she said, cutting him off, “I know being overly polite is like...your thing, or whatever, but please, just accept the offer.”

Lotor smiled “In that case…I’d be honored to stay, Princess.”

She scrunched up her nose at her childhood nickname. “Oh, don’t start with me, PRINCE,” she said, making him laugh. She gave him a light shove, laughing with him until she realized, how close into each other’s space they were. “Um, anyway,” she said, blushing and handing him the blankets, “I hope you don’t mind the couch, I don’t have a spare bedroom.”

“That sounds fine to me,” He said letting her lead him over. She stopped dead as she did the calculations and...and there was no singular way Lotor would fit on this couch. “It’s fine,” he said, trying to reassure her, “I’ll just…” he scrunched up between the arms, his ridiculously long limbs screwed up like a pretzel. 

Allura couldn’t help but laugh as he desperately tried to get comfortable in far too small a space. “Come on,” she said, “You...you don’t mind sharing a bed, do you?”

Lotor stopped squirming, and she could have sworn she saw him blush. “No, um. No of course not.” He took her hand and followed her to the bedroom.


	95. Hunk/Keith/Lance Bear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunk, Keith, and Lance take their daughter, Leah to build-a-bear workshop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Earth AU

“What about this one?” Hunk said, holding up a bright yellow bear.

“Hmmmm,” Leah said considering, “no, doesn’t feel right.”

Hunk slumped and Lance patted him on the shoulder, “it’s alright, I thought it was cute.”

Hunk smiled at him, looking back to Keith. “Maybe Pops has an idea for a toy,” he suggested.

“I really don’t,” Keith said, leaning on the wall, completely disoriented by all the bright fluffy animals. 

They didn’t always get to go on family outings all together, so they had asked their daughter Leah where she wanted to go. They could have gone to the park, or the movies, or outer space for all Keith cared. But no, she had chosen build a bear workshop.

His loathing was perhaps a tad exaggerated. To be honest, he hadn’t given much of a thought to the shop before. It was just he felt kind of out of his element, not to mention Madam Soccer Mom silently watching him off to the side.

The look was first confusion, trying to figure out which one of the three was Leah’s father, and if so, who were the other two? Then, Leah had called Hunk ‘daddy’ and she seemed satisfied...until she then called Lance ‘papa’ and then Keith ‘pops.’

Now she watched them like she was ready to call child services. He knew their family wasn’t exactly nuclear but it was full of love, and any of the three of them would give anything for little Leah. Keith was kind of ready to throw down, but Hunk and Lance had told him to stop picking fights with other parents ever since the disastrous PTA meeting.

“Pops!” Leah jumped, “move move move!” She said tapping on him to move aside, which he did, willingly. “This one,” She said, grabbing a rainbow covered bunny rabbit, “this one’s perfect!”

Lance smiled, “Alright, hun, why don’t you take it over to the line so you can get it stuffed.”

Leah’s face fell just a bit. “Aren’t you guys gonna get some?” She asked, a little whine in her voice.

The men blinked at each other. “This is all about you, Leah,” Hunk said, “you don’t have to worry about us.”

“But they need to be a family!” Leah wined, “here, you like this one, right Daddy?” She picked up the yellow bear and handed it to Hunk.

Hunk, Lance, and Keith exchanged looks. Lance and Keith shrugged. suckers, the lot of them. “Thank you sweetie,” Hunk said.

“Papa, it’s your turn!” Leah said. 

Lance hummed, looking at the wall of options. “I think...this one’s for me,” He said, grabbing a friendly blue cat plushie.

Leah squealed in delight. “Pops, your turn!” 

“Oh, I don’t know,” Keith said. To be honest the wall of unstuffed animals with blank plastic eyes kinda creeped him out. 

“Why don’t you pick one out for him, honey?” Lance suggested. 

Keith scowled silently. If she picked one, he HAD to try and love it, no matter what kind of monstrosity it was. 

Leah was already considering the wall with all her might, frowning and looking back and forth between Keith and several animals. Keith sighed, waiting patiently, as she went as far as to grab some, and hold them up to his face.

“If only they had a grumpy cat option,” Lance whispered to Hunk, just loud enough to Keith to hear. He glared at them as they both muffled their laughter.

“This one!” Leah said, coming over to Keith with a wolf plushie, “do you like it Pops?”

Of the varied plushies, he was impressed Leah had chosen an actually decent one. It may look like a cartoon, but at least it had actual wolf colors, and even the ears were right. “It’s perfect,” he told Leah, honestly.

They stood behind Judgy Mom in line, who seemed to have finally figured out their family situation, and did NOT approve. Keith stood between her and his child. She could do whatever she wanted, but Keith wouldn’t have Leah questioning her family. 

“I’m going to name mine sparkles!” Leah said jumping in place as they made their way up the line.

“Aww,” Hunk said, “I’m no good with names, can you name mine?” Keith caught Hunks eye. His boyfriend had also seen the judgy Mom, and had taken up distracting Leah. Lance, meanwhile, was watching Keith, probably to make sure he kept his cool. Honestly, Keith couldn’t complain. 

Judgy Mom made some terrible comment to her bored as Hell husband, but it wasn’t loud enough for Keith to really hear, so he just stood there, waited, and finally her little brat child had his bear and they left. 

Keith took a deep breath of relief, while Lance rested his head on his shoulder. “Don’t mind people like them,” he said, “they’re not worth it.”

“Yeah yeah,” he said, snarling where the woman left, “just don’t want her to say something to Leah.”

Lance pecked him on the cheek. “Leah’s fine. Our family’s fine, just the way it is, and there’s nothing people like her can do about it.

He nodded, and stepped forward to get his wolf stuffed.

He volunteered to drive them home, as Lance and Hunk were drooping. Lance sat in his front seat, petting the plush cat like it was real, and Hunk sat in the back, playing with Leah….that is until all three of them crashed.

Keith sighed, seeing them in his rear view mirror, each one snuggling their stuffed animal, Leah snuggling Keith’s wolf along with her bunny, in defiance of the laws of nature.

Keith smiled. Lance was wrong about one thing. Their family was more than fine, they were perfect.


	96. Acxa/Romelle Mutant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Romelle encounters a bank robbery on her walk home, and helps out a very strange stranger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Later than usual, but i went out and i had to rewrite it because i really didn't like the original

Romelle walked down the street after her shift. It was a misty night, she could hardly see the street in front of her. Her boss had asked her to stay late, and her car was in the shop, so she had to walk. 

She clutched her purse tight to herself. She felt like she was in a horror movie, every shadow, every scurrying rat a terrifying enemy who might destroy her. 

She swallowed and walked straight. The street was quiet, except for the wet sounds of cars running across the rain-soaked pavement. Just a little further. She could make it, just a BIT further.

She was so focused on the empty alley beside her, convinced one of the shadows would leap out at her, she did not consider to watch the explosion across the street. 

She was knocked off her feet, flinching as the dust settled. Looking over, she saw the silence and peace had been replaced by fighting. Two figures were locked in combat, a young woman, it seemed, dressed in black and yellow, against two more women, one tall and muscular, the other long and lanky, all dressed in strange multi-colored outfits. 

Before Romelle’s very eyes, the lanky woman turned invisible, while the strong woman punched the first woman out. She took the pain well, shooting back and doing a decent amount of damage, but the invisible woman was her weakness. She seemed to flinch and fall to the ground, the invisible woman appearing behind her, proud of what she’d done. The strong woman grabbed her arm, and the two ran off carrying bags of money. Only then did Romelle realize they were fighting in front of a bank. 

Romelle watched the woman on the ground. She struggled to try and stand, but only fell back to the ground. Romelle looked around. There was no one here to help her. No one, except for Romelle. 

Hesitant, she made her way across the street, “Um,” she said, trying to get the hurt woman’s attention, “I--can I--do you need me to call you an ambulance?” Close up, she couldn’t believe how hurt the woman looked. Her skin was so bruised she looked purple. 

Her hand snatched out, grabbing onto Romelle’s arm. “No,” she croaked out, “No Ambulance. No hospitals.”

“Ok…” Romelle said, “I um. I don’t live far from here. I think I might be able to support you a bit but I don’t think I’m strong enough to carry you, can you stand?”

The woman hesitated, thinking over her options. 

“It’s either that or you just stay here,” Romelle said. 

That seemed to push her into action. With Romelle’s help, they got her standing. Step by step, they made it to Romelle’s apartment. 

In the light of Romelle’s kitchen, she could see that the woman’s skin wasn’t bruised (well, not ALL of it) she was just naturally purple. “You’re…” Romelle said, “You’re a mutant!”

The woman snarled, looking like she was ready to start fighting, even half dead. No wonder she didn’t want to go to the hospital. Mutants weren’t very well treated, especially mutants with as obvious a mutation as discolored skin. “What of it?”

“No, no!” Romelle said, waving her hands, “It’s ok! I am too, see?” She let the little marks under her eyes grow. “I’m not very powerful, just have some minor shapeshifting, but I can do this!” She scrunched her eyes up really tight, her muscles seizing up. When she opened them again, Acxa seemed huge. She was about 6 inches tall, she guessed. “I’m Romelle!”

“Oh,” the woman said, blinking, “That’s...cute.” She gulped, “I’m Acxa.

Romelle grew back to normal size. “I can call my friend Allura, if you want. She’s REALLY powerful, and good with healing magic.”

“Allura Altea?” Acxa said, “YOU’RE friends with Allura Altea? The Mutant Activist?”

Romelle’s head nodded like a ragdoll, “She’s really friendly, I promise. She lives across town, but if I call her, she should be here in less than an hour hopefully--”

“No,” Acxa cut her off, “She’s too….she’s too public a figure. I kinda need to lay low for a bit. It’s complicated.”

Romelle scrunched down in front of the couch. “Does it have to do with those two bank robbers you fought?” Acxa hesitated, then nodded. “Ok, you can stay here for a while, then.” Romelle said, smiling. 

Acxa smiled back, resting on the couch, “Thank you, Romelle.”

Romelle got a chill up her spin, hearing Acxa say her name. She disguised it by getting up and going to get Acxa an ice pack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided that this will in fact end at 100 oneshots, and I'll move onto 100 Dragon Prince AU's for my warm up writing. 
> 
> If you have any last requests, now is the time to say.


	97. Thace/Ulaz Hammock

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ulaz is always worried about Thace getting hurt. Thace, less so.

“This, my dear, is the life,” Thace said, hooking the final hook into place, “Sleeping in the great outdoors, among nature, as our ancestors once did.”

“Thace,” Ulaz said, arms crossed, “We are in the city. We are 5 stories up. In absolutely no universe can this be described as ‘the great outdoors.’”

Thace bit his lip, thinking, “Then sleeping in the OK outdoors, among nature, as our ancestors intended.”

“The only nature out here is the pigeons,” Ulaz grumped, because that was Ulaz’s natural state of being. 

“Pigeons count!” Thace said, “Come on, this is perfect, a good time to relax outside in the fresh air.” 

“Mmhmm,” Ulaz said, arms crossed and leaning on the door frame.

“There’s room for two,” Thace sang, presenting the hammock like a magician showing the result of his trick. 

“The only reason I’m here at all, and not resting in our bed--our actual bed--and playing angry birds all morning is because I’m reasonably certain based on a wealth of anecdotal evidence that you’ll hurt yourself in all this.”

Thace gave his own typical response, which was to stick his tongue out at Ulaz, “It’s just an outdoor bed designed for comfort. What--”

“PLEASE don’t say ‘what could go wrong,’” Ulaz cut him off, “Whenever you say that, my hand twitches with the desire to call 911.”

“Hmph,” Thace said, angling the hammock so he could sit on it. “You’ve been proven wrong before, and you’ll be proven wrong now.”

Ulaz watched with baited breath as Thace started to angle himself off the ground. Despite Thace’s thoughts, Ulaz didn’t WANT to see Thace get hurt on this damn thing. It’s just….ok, Thace was actually a pretty brilliant guy, and talented in any number of ways. But he just...he seemed to attract accidents. Ulaz once had the theory that he did it to get Ulaz to take care of him, but no, he was just absolutely clumsy. 

Like he was moving a bomb about to go off, Thace adjusted himself to lay horizontal on the hammock. The ropes sagged in protest, the metal hooks squeaking under the weight. Finally, with a sigh of relief, Thace lay back, hands behind his head. “See? All completely safe.”

Ulaz hummed, not quite believing it. It’s when he let his guard down that accidents happened, sensing their lack of caution like a raccoon sniffing out trash. “We’ll see about that.”

“Come on, Ulaz,” Thace said, “It’s a HAMMOCK. I’m just going to be sleeping here. What harm--”

Ulaz cut him off with a noise, “Stop! Tempting! Fate!” He ordered his boyfriend.

Thace swung the hammock just a little to give Ulaz a mini-heart attack. “Come on it with me.”

“What, so when it falls over or tangles up or whatever else this death trap has to offer, I go down WITH you?”

“Exactly,” Thace said, with his annoyingly charming smirk. “That’s the whole point of doing this, we go down together, no matter what.”

Ulaz grumped. What he hated most is that he was actually tempted. And what else was he going to do if Thace was out here? Angry Birds really wasn’t THAT much fun. 

Groaning in defeat he made his way over to the hammock, ignoring Thace’s grin of victory.

Carefully, he sat on the edge, making the whole thing tilt and Thace roll over. 

Somehow they ended up with Ulaz’s leg through a hole in the hammock, and his body on top of Thace.

Thace laughed at the awkward position, and Ulaz tried to stay grumpy, but his laugh was too damn infectious. 

Finally, they readjusted. “There, see?” Thace said, “Nothing to worry about. And don’t tell me not to tempt fate, we’re already here, it’s over, nothing to tempt fate over.”

Ulaz hummed doubtfully, but let his eyes flutter closed.

 

“What was that about tempting fate?” Ulaz said several hours later.

Thace sighed, flinching in pain, “Never do it.”

Ulaz slapped some more burn cream on them. They were both bright red from laying in the sun. “Damn Right.”


	98. Jack/Krolia Married

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Krolia tries to be like the Good Human Wives she sees on television, and the results are less than spectacular.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After all the bittersweet stuff with Jack I decided it was best to go back to some fluff.

Jack woke up to the soft sound of whimpering. Or, at least that’s what he thought. But he quickly realized that was impossible. The only other person in the house was Krolia, and she never cried, Jack was almost positive she was incapable of it. 

But then the sound came again, and...well it SOUNDED like Krolia. Which didn’t sit right in Jack’s mind, but as he was waking up further and further, he couldn’t picture what else it could be. 

As he lifted his head, separating himself from the warm comforting smell of his own bed and his own pillow, he smelled something else. He was a fireman, there’s no mistaking that scent. Something was burning. 

With that, he flung himself out of the blankets and ran down the steps two at a time, running into the disaster of his own kitchen. 

There were no flames, thank goodness. Smoke covered the ceiling like a dense fog. Several pans sat burned black on his stove top, dripping with...some kind of goo that looked like it might have come from a witch’s cauldron. In the center of the mess was Krolia, slumped on the floor and sobbing her eyes out. 

Jack leapt into action, opening the windows and letting the smoke drift out. He turned on fans to help it along as well. Once the smoke had cleared a decent amount, he tended to Krolia on the floor. 

Krolia didn’t seem to pay Jack any mind as he kneeled down to her. Concerned, he instead sat beside her, cross-legged like he had in camp as a child, “Hey,” he said, trying to get her attention, “What’s going on?”

Krolia sniffled, trying to swallow back her tears so she could speak properly. “I--” she started and stopped, “I--tried--to--do--something-nice.” she stammered, “I--saw--on--TV--Human--Wives--Make--Thier--Husbands--Breakfast.” She sobbed more. 

“Oh, honey,” Jack said, scooting closer, “You really don’t have to do that for me. That’s kinda old fashioned, anyway, it’s not like a requirement or anything.” 

“Bu-But we can’t get married,” she said, “And I--I--I know you want to. You’ve I--Isolated yourself out here with me.”

“Baby,” Jack said, sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with her and wrapping an arm around her, “Baby, baby, I isolated myself. I don’t honestly like people that much. ‘Cept you.” He gave her a friendly punch on the shoulder. 

“I thought,” she said, still crying, “If I could just--do one normal thing….”

“Sweetheart,” He said, running out of cute nicknames, “Trust me, normal’s overrated. You don’t have to do anything for me other than just be yourself.”

She sniffled more. “And now I’ve messed up your kitchen trying…” she said, “And you have to care for ME when you should be upset…”

“Hey, look at me,” he said, “I’m not upset. Do I look upset?”

She sniffled a little more. “No,” she admitted, reluctantly, “Do I?”

And she said it with such earnesty and honesty, he couldn’t help but laugh no matter how hard he tried. He reached over and held her close. “Oh sweetie. Oh, oh, you big ole Purple babe. Yes. Yes you do.”

“Oh,” she said, like she hadn’t realized it. She hugged him back, her tears starting to dry. “I feel all...weird. Like...like my emotions are all in the wrong places.”

“It’s ok,” Jack said, pulling back to give her a kiss, “There’s no need to worry. You’ll be just fine.”

She sniffed, wiping her tears and nodded. “I’m sorry about all this.”

“Hey, don’t even worry about it,” he said getting up, “There’s this app online, they’ll deliver food here from in town. I bet there’s a breakfast place that’ll deliver out here if you’re up for it.”

She nodded, seeming drained, “Ok.” 

He offered her a hand. “And by the way,” he said, hauling her to her feet, “This is your kitchen too. Your house, your HOME. I don’t want you thinking any different.”

She finally smiled. “Ok,” she repeated, and he pulled her in for a kiss. 

 

Two weeks later, they found out Krolia was pregnant.


	99. Adam/Shiro Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro has a good dream in a bad situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can't stay away from that bittersweet for long, I guess. oops.

Shiro was dreaming. He could tell. He was back at the Garrison, even though he’d been gone for….some time, he didn’t know. He didn’t really remember what was going on in the waking world, but he knew it was something bad.

He knew what he wanted right now, though. Now, more than anything. 

He ran through the halls. It took no time at all before he was at a familiar door. He swung it open, barely noticing it was with his flesh-and-blood right hand. Why on earth wouldn’t it be, after all?

Inside the room was Adam, as though Shiro had never left him, standing over a hot stove and stirring something in a pot. “Hi, Takashi,” he said, “Pasta ok for dinner tonight? I don’t really have the energy for anything more complicated than that.”

Shiro came up behind him and threw his arms around his waist, holding him tight. “I missed you,” he said, nuzzling into his neck, “I missed you so much.”

Dream Adam smiled, leaning back to peck Shiro on the forehead. “Missed you too, you little shit,” he smirked, “Can you heat up some of my mom’s meat sauce for me? It’s in the fridge.”

Shiro was reluctant to let go of Adam, but went to grab the tupperware container, sticking it into the microwave as-is before returning to Adam’s warmth. “Dear God, Shiro, didn’t anyone ever tell you any microwave protocol?” Adam said rushing over to the microwave to turn it off. “Stir the pot, would you?”

Sighing, Shiro stirred the pasta in water, as Adam took out the tupperware and poured the sauce into a microwave-safe bowl. It smelled just how Shiro remembered, taking him back to Christmases spent at Adam’s house, sitting by a fireplace, listening to Adam’s dad interrogate him about his career, while Adam and his mother worked in the kitchen.

Adam put a paper towel over the bowl, so it wouldn’t get all over the microwave, and stuck it in, before taking back over for Shiro. “I have never met someone so talented, who was also such an unmitigated disaster.”

Shiro whined, laying his head on Adam’s shoulder, swaying them where they stood. “I try my best.”

“That’s what scares me, sometimes,” Adam said, leaning into him. 

Tears sprang up in Shiro’s eyes. “You were right,” he said, “I shouldn’t have gone. I shouldn’t have left. I should have stayed here, with you, and Keith, and just--just tried to be happy here while I could.”

Adam hummed comfortingly, “You wouldn’t have been happy, and you know it.”

“I would,” he protested, “I would with you.”

Sighing, Adam put his wooden spoon aside, turning down the heat on the water. He’d put spices in the water, Shiro could tell. He turned around, holding Shiro’s face in his hands. “You’re a pilot. You wouldn’t be happy unless you could BE a pilot, for as long as you could, anyway. You couldn’t have left Sam and Matt to go up with someone less experienced, less skilled. You did what you always do,” He leaned his forehead against Shiro’s, “The right thing.”

The tears fell down Shiro’s face, and he put his hands over Adam’s. “This isn’t real,” he said, “This is just what I want to hear. My subconscious trying to comfort itself.”

“Then let it,” Dream Adam said, “You don’t take care of yourself enough anyway. That’s what I was always here for.”

Reality started to seep into Shiro’s dream, memories and flashes of things that happened just earlier that day. “Let’s get married,” he urged the dream, “right now, like we always wanted to do. Live our lives like we always wanted.”

He opened his eyes and Adam was in a white tux, as was he. They were in a field or a park, somewhere outside and beautiful. Keith and Matt and Sam were standing beside him, Adam’s family on his side. They wore rings, beautiful rings on their fingers as Adam held him close. 

Shiro kissed him, hanging onto this moment like it was the last moment in the world. 

He felt reality creeping up on him, feeling droopy, like he couldn’t move. “Adam,” he tried to whisper, but his voice was lost.

He woke up back in his cell, his white tux turned to prison clothes, and his companions strange aliens huddled up and terrified about what the day would bring.


	100. Coran & Everyone Bed Time Stories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coran cares for all the children at the pre-school, figuring out a way to keep them quiet.

“Lance, no!” Coran said chasing the toddler down, “do not pull on Keith’s hair! Keith, remember, use your words!”

Like he couldn’t hear Coran, Keith’s lips pulled back in a snarl, like a wild animal, and charged down Lance who fled with a squeal.

Coran went to follow them, but was weighed down around his foot. “Hunk, please, would you let go of my leg?”

Hunk whined a little, thumb in his mouth, but slowly, his hand unclenched around Coran’s pant leg.

Luckily Lance was easy to distract, and Keith easy to spur with competition, “why don’t you each draw me your best depiction of a...a lion,” that could work, they had paper plates that would do well as masks. 

“I call the blue crayon!” Lance said, going to work.

“Lions aren’t blue,” Keith said, nose scrunched up like the very idea of the lack of reality offended him.

“Mine is,” Lance said decidedly.

Keith apparently decided that meant his lion should be red, but by that point, Coran was pulled to another crisis. “Pidge, no,” he said, “that’s not a toy.” He picked her up, something he rarely did, but he didn’t want her mixed up with all the wires and such beneath his computer.

She squealed, upset, punching out with tiny fists, but it didn’t hurt. “Pidge, come on, you know better. Why don’t you go play with your older brother?”

He dragged her over to the ‘big kid’ table, for the children nearly ready for kindergarten. Maturely, Matt, Adam, Veronica, and Shiro sat, gossiping about their favorite cartoons and trading gummy worms. “Matt,” Coran said, “would you mind caring for your sister?”

“Ew no,” Matt said, “She’s gross!” 

Pidge started wailing, more proving his point than protesting it, snot dripping out of her like a faucet. “Just, hold her for a minute, please,” Coran begged, distracted by a fight that was brewing behind them.

Zethrid had pinned James Griffin to the play mat, and their friends were either screaming at them to stop, or encouraging them to win, it was hard to tell at a glance who was screaming what. “Alright, enough!” He said, physically tugging the two apart. They were worse than Keith and Lance, those two were friends who just did play fighting. These children intended to hurt one another, as evident by what looked like a bite mark on James arm, and the way Zethrid was holding her eye. “What happened here?”

“James made fun of Lotor’s hair!” Razor cried out, eager to be a tattletale as her long ponytail swung behind her, “we were braiding and he said boys shouldn’t have hair that long!”

“Zethrid jumped on him!” Rizavi countered, “and she bit him and hit him!” 

This started another screaming match between the two sets of friends, to what end he doubted any of them knew. “Quiet, Everyone!” He said over the squabbling children. “James, boys can have their hair long like girls if they want to, just like girls can have their hair short. Zethrid, it’s nice to stand up for your friend, but you should come to ME next time, or another trusted adult. Now, both of you, say your sorry.”

James and Zethrid screwed up their faces like he’d ask them to swallow a lemon. “Sorry,” James mumbled.

Zethrid literally growled. Behind her, her friend Narti nudged her. “Sorry,” she muttered, somehow making it sound like a threat.

Coran sighed. “I’m going to give you both a time out for 10 minutes. James, you sit in this corner, Zethrid, you sit in that one over there.”

The children reluctantly went to their corners and Coran sighed in relief. That is, until he felt another tug on his pants. “Mr. Coran,” Rax said, “Hunk stoke my rock!”

Coran found this hard to believe, Hunk was usually one of the best behaved kids in the class. He looked over to where he was playing with Shay and started connecting the pieces. It wasn’t that Hunk had stolen Rax’s rock, he’d stolen his sister. 

Coran took Rax’s hand and went over to where the two were calmly going over Shay’s rock collection she brought for show and tell. “Hunk, Shay,” Coran said, “Can Rax play with you two?”

Hunk seemed to consider it, but Shay quickly said “no way! He tries to hoard all the rocks for himself!”

“I do not!” Rax said, “he’s the one who took the rocks!” He pointed aggressively at Hunk.

Hunk swallowed, nervous, “I...I was just looking!” He said, trying to hand the rock back to Shay, but she didn’t take it.

“This is my rocks!” She said, stubborn, “not his!”

“It’s ours!” Rax said, “mommy said you have to share!”

“Children,” Coran said, “why don’t you ALL look at the rocks, there are plenty here for the three of you.” Neither Shay not Rax seemed happy with this, but they accepted it.

Coran left them to their own devices, looking around for the next fire to put out.

Lance had decided he wanted the Red Crayon too, and was trying to steal it. Zethrid’s friends had gathered around her as she sat in time out, shooting James malevolent glances, all five definitely plotting something. James’ friends were gathered around him, no doubt plotting their own defense against the other’s plot. An argument had broken out at the big kids table, over some cartoon, Adam and Shiro vs. Veronica and Matt. Pidge was crying at the noise from their fight, Matt trying to keep her at arms length as much as possible. Shay and Rax were quietly fighting about which rocks Hunk was allowed to hold and which he wasn’t.

He looked to the one child who seemed immune to the chaos. Allura was his favorite student, possibly biased by the fact he was her godfather. But she was honestly just a well behaved and incredibly smart girl, sitting off to the side and reading her book.

Coran collapsed beside her, looking over the chaos brewing. “What am I going to do, Princess,” he asked, using his nickname for her.

She looked up, considering her peers. Leaning over, she whispered into his ear.

Smiling, he nodded, “good idea.”

“Everyone,” he called, “Quiet down, everyone.” Some of them quieted, giving him attention. Close enough. “Everyone grab your nap mats and gather over here, we’re going to have story time!”

Reluctantly, the children made their way to their mats, picking them up and grabbing spot, clustering so they could sit beside their friends.

Finally, they all settled in, Coran sitting on a chair above him. “This is a story about a far away land called...Altea,” he made up on the spot, “Altea was a beautiful land with a great and kind King,” in his minds eye, he imagined his best friend, Alfor, Allura’s father. “The king was friends with a lot of other Kings, from a lot of other lands. One day, he and his King friends were all having dinner together, when a meteor came down to the Earth. 

Acxa raised her hand, because she was better behaved than her friend group would lead you to believe. “What’s a meteor?” She asked.

“It’s like a shooting star, that lands in the Earth. The King of Altea was also a scientist, and so used the meteor to build powerful space ships for himself and his friends.”

“Space ships are boring,” Veronica grumped, most likely motivated by her brother’s love of space to automatically hate it.

“Not these spaceships, Coran said, “Because, you see, they were in the shape of—“

“Lions!” Lance called out, waving his blue lion with red scribbles. “And they were blue!”

“Shouldn’t Lions be yellow?” Hunk asked. 

“One of them was blue, and one was yellow,” Coran reassured them. Keith looked like he was about to interrupt himself, so he quickly said “and one was Red, too.”

“Geen!” Pidge piped up.

Coran nodded, “Yes, Green too. And…”

“Black,” Shiro said, a grin on his face.

“Sure,” Coran said. “Anyway, the kings used these lion ships to protect their lands, working together to bring peace to the land.”

“And the lions all fused together to create a giant robot!!” Matt said, excitedly.

“Yes, yes they did,” Coran said, depending on his improv training in his youth. “And the robot was called vol...uh, vol….”

“Vol...tron?” Keith suggested hesitantly. 

“Yes, Voltron,” Coran smiles at him, “but, one of the kings wanted to use Voltron for evil,” he said, trying to encourage the kids to go ‘oooh,’ his name was…” Coran’s eyes lingered on Lotor, who’s father was Coran’s least favorite parent, always demanding something, “Zarkon,” he said, obscuring the name enough for use.

“Zarkon was married to an evil Queen, who was also a witch, and wanted to use Voltron to drain planets of their power. But the King of Altea wasn’t deterred, and made sure to fight to defend the universe.”

Coran continued his story, telling the adventures of Voltron, and accepting suggestions from his audience. Ryan, one of James friends, was the first to lay down and close his eyes, apparently asleep. One by one, the other children followed, allowing themselves to be lulled by Coran’s voice.

Shiro, Keith, Hunk, Lance, Pidge, and Allura were the only ones to stay up, intrigued by the whole story. He finished with a happy ending, that made them all smile. “Rest now, kiddies,” Coran encouraged, “and know that Voltron is watching over you.”

Lance yawned, pulling Hunk and Keith close, Keith clinging to Shiro, and Pidge snuggled up behind Hunk.”

Allura stayed right by Coran’s feet, “Good night, Coran.” She whispered.

He smiled down at her. “Sleep tight, Princess.”

And the room was quiet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can’t believe it’s been 100 chapters! Thank you so much for reading and hopefully enjoying. I may add more at some point if I am inspired, but like I said, I’m moving onto a new project for warm-up writing. Farewell!

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think! My tumblr is [dork-empress](http://dork-empress.tumblr.com/)


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